Brother (2022)

Brother (2022). 1h 59m

“It follows a Canadian-Jamaican family in Scarborough, Ontario, over 20 years from 1981 to 2001.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eRuth (Marsha Stephanie Blake) is a Jamaican immigrant to Toronto, Canada. She has two sons–Francis (Jacob Williams/Aaron Pierre) and Michael (David Odion/Sabastian Nigel Singh/Lamar Johnson). Francis is older than Michael by a couple of years and is protective of his family in the fatheru0026#39;s absence. By his late teens, Francis is a large, physically intimidating man who acts with confidence but has some questionable friends. Michael is smaller, darker, less self-confident, and more studious in school. In high school, Michael is attracted to Aisha (Delia Lisette Chambers/Kiana Madeira), a Canadian-Jamaican neighbor whose father came from the same area of Jamaica as Ruth.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe story jumps back and forth between 1981, 1991, when a tragic event occurs, and 2001 when Michael is trying to hold things together. We see the bleakness of many Caribbean immigrant lives, the aura of violence that is never far away, and the problematic relationship with a lily-white 1991 Scarborough police force.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;Brotheru0026quot; is the story of family love persisting through trauma, shattered dreams of a hopeful Jamaican musician, and territorial conflicts between gangs of similar backgrounds, with a final glimmer of resolution at the end. u0026quot;Brotheru0026quot; was a hard movie to watch because of its ring of truth and many dark scenes. The chemistry between Blake, Pierre, and Johnson was excellent. Madeira was also good. My biggest complaint was that I found the rapid jumping back and forth in time sometimes confusing. And I wonder if the metaphor of hydro-tower-climbing interspersed throughout the film really worked. Nonetheless, u0026quot;Brotheru0026quot; is one of the better Canadian movies Iu0026#39;ve recently seen.”