Cubussoli
Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!
MamaGravity
good back-story, and good acting
Leofwine_draca
MY BROTHER THE DEVIL has quite a lot of quality for a low budget, shot-on-the-streets type of British youth film. It tells the story of a couple of Arab kids growing up on the mean streets of Hackney, where they must intermingle with drug gangs and adult life in a bid to make something of their lives - or merely survive.Unfortunately for me, I've seen all this sort of thing before in the likes of Noel Clarke's KIDULTHOOD and ADULTHOOD, plus the wave of films along the same line that have been made over the past decade, and MY BROTHER THE DEVIL doesn't really have much more to say on the subject, other than to make a point of how ridiculous, violent, and difficult it all is. Director Sally El Hosaini elicits some strong performances from her young, unknown cast members, and the film is certainly watchable from beginning to end. But it's too familiar and fatalistic to have much of an impact on this viewer.
elliotte2
There is a lot more to this movie than the title/synopsis tells.Very well directed, but the consistent high acting from everyone especially the teenagers, is amazing. The character development(and changes) catches you off guard....in a good way.It is advertised as two brothers on the streets of London, but it is really a coming-of-age story about how environment/people influence what we are and what we do. It is a slow-moving movie, so do not expect 'Gangs of New York' or some type of gangster action movie. This movie is for those that enjoy a good drama that you can remember after watching it.Recommended those like good old fashion movie-making, without the CGI, high body count or overpriced actors who can't act.
thealefmagnus
Before I begin, I would just like to state the fact that I did not watch any trailer or read any long synopsis about the film. All I knew was it's about two Egyptian brothers living in the gangland side of London. Did this play well for me? Definitely. And I think this should be how everyone should watch movies. Minimal expectations and little to no presumptions. You'd appreciate the story more and you'd find yourself glued to the screen whatever genre it is.My Brother The Devil follows the story of two brothers living in the beautifully shot yet dangerous communities in East London. Mo, the younger brother idolizes his older brother Rashid who is part of a gang in the area, the DMG (Drugs, Money, Guns). Rashid wants nothing for his brother but to go a different path than him but he can't do this if his brother looks up to what he does as something to aspire. As part of the gang, Rashid sometimes engages in several illegal activities such as transporting drugs. When Mo gets into trouble with a rival group in the community headed by "Demon", things start turning for the worst.Events intensify as Rashid witnesses the death of his best friend Izzi who was trying to live a normal life out of the gang. This becomes a turning point for him to start cleaning up his act and leave his gang without notice. Through a newly formed friendship with a rich photographer, Sayyid, Rashid starts to change his ways and finally earns a job as an assistant. Growing suspicious of his brother's absence, Mo follows his brother only to be torn apart with what he finds out. He takes his brother's place in the gang and becomes more involved with its illegal activities.A lot of people are calling the movie out on this twist but if you look back at the scenes leading up to the film's midpoint, it was well-hinted. There are many scenes that indicate the upcoming reveal so while it took my be surprise, it wasn't that big of a shock. It is actually in line with the overall idea of the film. It's about growing up and making decisions in your life about things you cannot change and taking action for your own betterment.At first, I thought it was going to be mostly about the younger brother following his brother around and learning more about life in this perspective. What surprised me was the equal treatment of the two characters. Both of them were undergoing great changes in their lives and their decisions that come after have great effect later on. As the danger of Rashid's old life tries to catch up with him, bonds are put to test leading up to the thrilling pre-final scenes of the film.The biggest asset of "My Brother" undoubtedly comes from the two main leads. James Floyd is a force to be reckoned with as he exhibits immense versatility in playing the gang member brother of the duo. If you see him as an actor, you'll be surprised at how different he is from his previous projects and in real life. It's like watching a whole different person acting in this film. He even adopted the necessary accent fit for the role. Fady Elsayed appears to be no stranger in acting yet you'd be surprised to know, it's only his first time to act on screen. His chemistry with his friend Aisha (Letitia Wright) flows naturally and captures the sweet side to a character trying to measure up to his brother's name.Another strong point of the film is its cinematography, allowing a supposedly dangerous community appearing as liveable yet could pose an imminent threat to the character's lives anytime. As Sayyid once points out in the film, it's all about the framing. The film allows you to look into the fragile lives of the brothers despite the tough background they are in. Mad props to writer/director Sally El Hosaini on this debut feature, deserving of its buzz and multiple awards in several festivals in 2012.My Brother The Devil is a tender coming-of-age film with brilliantly acted characters and an eye-catching visuals of the notorious gangland of East London. It's an exploration of identity, a test of brotherhood, and the exhibition of choice towards change.writelikesundance.wordpress.com
davideo-2
STAR RATING: ***** Saturday Night **** Friday Night *** Friday Morning ** Sunday Night * Monday MorningRashid (James Floyd) is caught up with street gangs in inner city London, and runs in to a feud with another rival gang when his younger brother Mo (Fady Elsayed) is robbed by them while running an errand for Rashid's crew. But when his best friend is killed in a retaliation attack instigated by Rashid, he is forced to try and come to terms with his life and turn it around, while facing up to his own inner demons. Meanwhile, young Mo is forced to face some harsh rites of passage choices of his own.Just when it seemed like it had been a while, Sally El Hosani comes along with a new gritty British urban drama to shake the genre back up a bit. Little seen but critically hailed, it's lesser budget not holding it back at all, My Brother the Devil is an undeniably impressive but overlong and maybe even slightly over rated offering that is maybe guilty of over ambition in it's scope.Basing it's story at the centre of a bustling immigrant community in the sprawling metropolis of London, the film lifts the rafters on what has probably become a pretty typical, archetypal landscape setting for many parts of the capital, or even the country as a whole. It opens a rough, unpredictable world with danger at every corner and the price of life disturbingly cheap. In this it manages what many other films of it's type have already done, and in an above average way, but it loses it's way in a sea of complex, challenging sub plots that seem to be aiming for higher gasp factor as it goes on. Somehow, the central narrative loses it's structure a bit, while the performances and writing remain spot on. Still, if all the cogs in the engine aren't working, someone'll notice.This is an undeniably ambitious, well acted, daring, effectively shot, depressingly realistic and smartly written piece that doesn't deserve to have all those qualities ignored, but maybe got a little too above it's station and fell down from a spellbinding height. ***
