The Brothers Review
The Brothers is a 2020 short film directed by Jamison Locascio and written by Ronnel Ricardo Parham and Andrew L. Gardner.
A whole-hearted attempt at a film that tackles the hardships of grief that ultimately leaves some mixed results.
While a direct and brief film that covers a lot of ground in six minutes, there is still a lot that the filmmakers could have added to the film. The characters and motivations just feel a little hollow here. Of course, losing a mother is a large catchall for what we see in the film it just doesn’t feel as if we explore things deep enough.
To the film’s credit, the tone is very apparent from the beginning of the piece, and it does a good job keeping that style consistently. The somber tone is consistent, and the technical aspects reflect that.
The shaky camera work at the onset of the film is a bit too much on a personal level in the car scenes filmed, but as we progress the shot selections are much more stationary. There is nothing bad about the cinematography on display, but there is nothing far-reaching about it either.
This is a piece that delivers a tasting of what feels like it could be a bigger piece of a meal. It is a good start but needs to have a few more threads either before or after the accident to provide a deeper investment into these characters.
The last act of the film could also use a bit more of a punch up, as it feels as though things ramp up and then down again much too quickly.
This is a decent short film that just needs a bit more screen time or change in the story beats to bring about some deeper character development. While the concept of losing a loved one is instantly relatable for most, the characters we experience that with in this film just needed some more moments to pull us closer to them and the story at large.
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Cheers!
Daniel Hess
Film Festival and Award Highlights:
BEST SHORT FILM – DIRECT MONTHLY ONLINE FILM FESTIVAL
BEST SHORT FILM – FLIXZE FILM FESTIVAL
BEST SHORT FILM – MADRES INDEPENDENT FILM FESTIVAL
BEST SHORT FILM – NEW YORK MOVIE AWARDS
FINALIST – BEST SHORT FILM – NEW YORK MOVIE AWARDS
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