Highly Overrated But Still Good

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

It did take two sittings for me to get through this, the beginning felt like a lot of scene-setting, not all of which was compelling or necessary to the story line. Some of the acting felt a bit wooden. A lot of the side-characters were very forgettable. Mo's friendship with Aisha didn't really go anywhere. Wish that Rash and Sayyid's relationship, which was suddenly introduced out of *nowhere*, could have been explored more. And for god's sake, is it possible for people to actually say the word *bisexual*? Others have been saying that this is about a gay brother, when it is never said that he doesn't still love Vanessa. And the fact that their sex was not 100% consensual should have been addressed more. There were just a lot of stereotypes which were played into. A few plot holes such as what happened after Izzi's murder? No investigation? No living in constant fear that the police will rock up at your door? No CCTV that would have caught them? None of the characters seemed desperately sad that someone had died. Despite all these issues, I didn't dislike it. There were parts which were dramatic and tense. Also, why do films insist on being filmed in the dark, I know it's atmospheric, but god is it difficult to watch.

The show my brother the devil plays on many stereotypes from Muslim stereo types to gay and lesbian stereotypes. This is because Rash turns out to be gay in a Muslim household and his brother finds out however his mum and dad do not know. This relates to life in the streets of the streets of south east London as if a so called gangster was to be called gay he may be picked on or made fun of. Also in the religion of Islam it is haram to be gay therefore if Rash would have told his parents they may have kicked him out of looked down upon him. The film touches on very controversial topics such as a gangster which is gay as this may be the first time such a character has been shown or depicted in a film.

My brother the devil is a thrilling drama. It captivates what life is like in the streets, what it is like to be a road man and the struggles that males face on the road. One of the unexpected struggles of the film was the fact that Rash is gay. This was very shocking as this type of homosexual culture is not usually expressed within films that involve gang culture as it is often frowned upon. Even within the film Rash's brother Mo is so disappointed to the fact that his brother is gay, he would prefer if his brother was a terrorist. This expresses how in society if you were to be gay it is not excepted. In addition to this their religion doesn't condemn you to be gay as they are Muslim it would be considered haram.

My Brother The Devil may not have any recognizable names to draw you in, but the trailer gives you a certain amount of intrigue. We see young love, violence, homosexuality and family. All together, the trailer sets you up and the movie knocks you out. Now, let's see if that is supposed to mean something positive or negative shall we?Our leads for this film are Rashid (played by James Floyd), the older brother part of a gang who is masking homosexual urges; his younger brother Mo (played by Fady Elsayed) who is a smart young man who likes to follow his brother like a puppy; Repo (played by Aymen Handouchi) who is one of the visible leaders of Rashid's gang; and then you have Sayyid (played by Said Taghmaoui) who starts off as the man to help Rashid get out the drug business, but ends up also being the man who brings Rashid one step closer to coming out.Which leads to me talking about the story. Most of the tale takes place around British project buildings as we establish the difficult life of immigrants to the UK who give birth to children who, in the movie anyway, have difficulty going straight and end up finding themselves giving into the easy money made dealing drugs. Enter Rashid and Mo. Rashid, seemingly, has been out of school for a while and has been making a living dealing drugs to help his Egyptian family which includes his brother Mo, mother, and father. For some time, it seems Rashid, or Raj, is very comfortable in his life. He has a beautiful girlfriend named Vanessa (played by Elarica Gallacher), a mate he seems rather close to named Izzi (played by Anthony Welsh) and Mo is doing well in school. Then, after Mo gets robbed by a rival gang and the beef between them and Rashid's crew leads to casualties, Rashid looks to get out and he finds legit work through Sayyid and, from there, as Rashid looks to leave the game, Mo tries to take his place. Thus leading to Mo trying to walk his brother's path, all the while his brother walking a road he has only veered onto when he let himself go.Now, something I like about this movie is the fact it feels like when you watch it, you are watching multiple episodes of a series at one time. For, with it nearly being two hours, it can be a bit longer than I usually like, but it has decent enough pacing to keep you attentive. Also, I must note how good the performances are in the film. Mind you, I wouldn't say these are BAFTA worthy performances which upset you or make you cry, but everyone feels like they were written to be authentic and the actors assume their roles really well.But, with that said, I must admit there is a strong need for hard coded subtitles with this film. Be it because I'm not from the UK/Britain and don't know much of their slang/ dialects, I did find it hard sometimes to really understand what the actors were saying. Also, as much as I loved how the movie felt like a show's first few episodes mashed together, at the same time it can leave you a bit weary since it is rare for a film to be so long. Lastly, I must admit that I wanted to see and hear more about the cultures of the characters. It isn't often we see Egyptian Muslims, and I would have liked to learn more about their culture, how they may handle homosexuality, how a kid born in modern times handles a religion which is seen as conservative, and I would have like to see more out of the cast's cultures to. Be it the Nigerian character; Sayyid, who comes from France; and the many others which you can only assume because there is no definite cultures named. I feel, as good as the story way, there was still room to add more.Overall: RentalMy Brother, The Devil may not be an urban masterpiece, but it does bring the type of intrigue which makes you wish the movie was just a pilot for a show. I say this since there is quite a large cast, each being part of some storyline not always fully developed, and at times it feels like we are only truly given a taste rather than a full course meal. Due to that, I would say this is a rental since it isn't so good you have to show people you know, but I do feel it is worth watching to kill some time.