Customer Reviews

Brother to Brother

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I bought this DVD with some trepidation as some of the reviews I had seen had been less than complimentary on the whole. But I was pleasantly surprised. Not only did I find the movie deeply engrossing and highly entertaining, I also couldn't fail to be moved by its (in my view) huge historical/cultural significance.

Anthony Mackie was truly mesmerizing... and achingly beautiful to watch. Just the kind of black gay character I'd been yearning to see on screen all my adult life. He played the part with absolute conviction and, thankfully, he did this while managing to completely avoid any of the grotesque and stereotypical caricatures that we see oh so often, in so many other gay parts. I felt he played the part with a quiet and honest dignity, and showed us a talented, young black gay man who just wants to live and love. I have no doubt that many black gay men will identify with him. He is us and we are he.

The director made a point of stating Makie's heterosexuality in one of the bonus pieces but I feel his real sexuality is irrelevant. Straight, gay or in between, he's a young, black, American actor with (no doubt) a long and successful career ahead of him. Taking on this role showed courage on his part and I take my hat off to him. Denzel and Will, take note.

Roger Robinson was a joy as well. I'd not seen either he or Mackie prior to this and will be going in search of other works by these actors almost immediately. "She Hate Me", which I had hitherto avoided, and "Million Dollar Baby" are first on my list.

I was also pleased to see Larry Gilliard, Jr and Lance Reddick in this movie. After two seasons of "The Wire" (still waiting for season three on DVD), I feel like they're family. Great actors both of them.

The end was very poignant and the Langston Hughes poem that accompanied it, very fitting. I cried. And yes, it was unfortunate that all the black gay characters in the movie seemed keen on white men only. In the light of Marcus's "evil white men" rants, this aspect of the movie, not to mention Marcus's later attempts to pimp Perry off to a (white) Soho art gallery owner, seemed rather contradictory but all in all, I thought the points around the issues of interracial relationships had been well made. I look forward to future works by the director and all his leading actors (male and female).

Brother to Brother isn't a film so much about a young black gay man coming to terms with his sexual identity as it is more precisely a story about a young black man who inspite of the prejudices against him for being black and gay manages to live life and create art on his own terms without fear and shame and the bowing down to prejudices of a hostile world that expects him to conform to a stereotype and fetish to others peoples ideas.

As the story begins, Perry (Anthony Mackie) has already been thrown out of his father's home for being gay and has just had a heated discussion with another classmate during Lit class after volunteering information that a black male literary legend from the past was gay. This classmate of Perry's represents a segment of the black community hostle to the idea that black gay men do exist and are sometimes unwelcomed. Balancing out this hostile classmate is Perry's long-time straight friend, Marcus (Larry Gilliard) who kinda goes against the popular notion that every person of African decent is a homophobe. He is dependable and supportive, but he does not quite understand where Perry is always coming from when he talks about the ill treatment of some "brothers" but he can understand the obstacles Perry is facing as a black artist in the artworld who much like the world of publishing is often both intentionally and unintentionally prejudiced (!). All this and Perry beginning a brief relationship with a white peer who may have a kinda of fetish thing for black guys.

In walks a figure from the past, a "black" undiscovered gay hero of the Harlem Renaissance, Richard Bruce Nugent (the great Roger Robinson) who teaches Perry that every thing he is now dealing with in his life were the same issues face by a group of talented young black writers of 1920's Harlem Renaissance heyday. Nugent tells stories that bring to life the whirl of days of Niggerati Manor and its inhabitants like Langston Hughes (Daniel Sunjata) who was black and proud and celebrated black beauty long before the black protest movements of the 1960's and in whose coded poems sometimes celebrated the love, "Beauty," and admiration of one black man for another black man,Zora Neale Hurston (Aunjanue Ellis) whose talent and charisma is capture well in the film, Wallace Thurman (Ray Ford) who was gay and possessed of an surperior intellect that rivaled anyone past and present and black and white, and of course Nugent himself as a young man (Duane Boutte) who was talented but refused to deny his identity and make the same sacrifices Langston Hughes did to become a well known writer and the Dean of Black American Letters. Through Nugent, Perry learns pretty universal thems as believing in yourself, not compromising your vision and integrity to cater to someone else's idea of how they think things should be done, and self pride despite prejudices.

I am happy Rodney Evans made this movie his way without compromising his beliefs and values to do it. From such a small budget to make the film came a movie rich in texture and meaning, especially with the absence of gay men of color often being ignored in the media, mainstream and mainstream gay, baring the ocassional tokenism of a mouthly gay magazine and film.

In Makie, Robinson, Sunjata, Ellis, Ford, and Boutte and Rodney Evans's care and skill, I saw my face and its inherent beauty that is often denied. That was nice!!!

Names we all recognize: Langston Hughes, Zora Lean Hurston, Wally Thurman. But what is their connection, to life in the 1920's, to life in Harlem, and their role in the pre-Civil Rights Movement? And what is their role to us today? Rodney Evans' inspiring independent picture, "Brother to Brother" atttempts to answer that question.

Anthony Mackie plays Perry, a young, gay, black artist struggling to find his place in this world and his own community. Supported unconditionally by his best friend Marcus and another friend Jim, Perry spends the early part of the film wandering around, seemingly going through the motions, but unsure of the meaning behind it all. Then he meets Bruce Nugent, an aging artist and writer, who attempts to guide Perry through this tricky path of self-discovery. In doing so, Bruce illuminates his life back in the 1920's, in Harlem, during the grand renaissance when blacks, unprecendentally, began to blossom in all areas.

The film is the most effective in these moments of flashback, an oft-overused convention that works very well in this film. As Bruce tells his stories, we see parts of Harlem, and the people who worked to buck conventions in trying to produce art that accurately reflected their authentic experience. The actors playing the main people of Bruce's social set are incredible, from Daniel Sunjata who plays Langston Hughes to Aunjanue Ellis who captures the zeal and life of Zora Neal Hurston. It is baudy, risky, and works to great effect. As we see Perry affected by these stories, we, as an audience, are also equally affected. This definitely has all of the hallmarks of an independent film, adding a rawness of realism to the story.

Rodney Evans first work is a promising, affecting tale, one that reaches beyond race lines, and will land deftly into your heart. Soon after watching "Brother to Brother" I found myself on Amazon, looking at the works of these people and ordering them for myself. You will too, as well as wanting to add this treasure of a movie into your collection.

This film, as many have expressed, was, indeed, wonderful. It gave a convincing depiction of what it could be like being black and gay with the unnecessary confusion and apprehension linked with "coming out". The film depicts a young man who is already comfortable in his own skin, and not struggling with his sexuality. That was refreshing. The acting was riveting and enthralling. The historical portions (the flash backs to the Harlem Renaissance) was absolutely believable. A part of me wished that Perry's (played by Anthony Mackie) and Jim's (played by Alex Burns) relationship could have worked out, but that is the way life goes sometimes. Overall, this film was enjoyable, and it continues to reinforce my dislike for the big Hollywood trash that is coming out these days.

"Brother to Brother" packs a lot of ambition into its compact running time. Director Rodney Evans has interwoven the modern-day story of Perry, a young gay African-American artist (Anthony Mackie) living in New York, struggling to find love and a sense of identity, with nothing less than a brief film history of the birth of the Harlem Renaissance literary movement, with its seminal figures Langston Hughes, Wallace Thurman, Zora Neale Hurston and Bruce Nugent shown in black-and-white flashbacks. An aged, destitute but still witty and unbowed Nugent (Roger Robinson) befriends Perry in the present and becomes his touchstone.

"Brother to Brother" is perhaps at its best in the flashbacks, which vividly capture the excitement and sense of limitless possibility that briefly existed for Nugent and his compatriots as they founded the radical literary journal "Fire!" They make one want to know more about these people. The present-day narrative has its virtues as well, shedding light on the special problems of gay African-Americans as well as the struggle to maintain one's artistic identity and integrity. The frankness with which male/male sex is treated, without prurience or heavy guilt, is most welcome. Curiously, as another reviewer has mentioned, however, the couplings shown almost exclusively involve black with white men, which undercuts the film's contention that black gay men should celebrate their uniqueness. Moreover, Evans' protagonist has too many issues to contend with--homophobic parents and classmates, trying to make a living as a painter, boyfriend troubles--for everything to fit comfortably within the short allotted time. Finally, it must be said that an actor with greater emotional range than Mackie may have been able to bring out more facets of Perry, who too often seems merely a handsome, glum cipher. Still, despite its flaws, "Brother to Brother" succeeds at illuminating corners of the human experience long neglected in mainstream filmmaking, and for this certainly merits praise.

I am not a movie buff but I enjoyed the movie as it was superbly entertaining. I even watched the scenes that were cut from the movie and appreciated that the director took the time to do so. He explored many avenues and hit the nail on the head with his chosen direction and we are all the better entertained for it. I love history as well and got a kick out of the historic references. The tender friendship stories with black faces was comforting to see.

I had the pleasure of viewing this film on PBS, as part of their "Independent Lens" series, and I truly can say is that it is moving beyond words. It is superbly written, directed and acted. Rich in heart, thought, and wit, Rodney Evans's fictional work undoubtedly does justice to the art, intellectual ancestry and the strength of perseverance in the face of social injustice. Both an artistic and political achievement, "Brother to Brother" offers a rare glimpse of what it means to be a black, gay artist today as well as during the Harlem Renaissance, and marks Evans as a brave and unique voice in American cinema. Perry Williams is a talented young artist working and studying in New York. Art world success is knocking at his door, but Perry is afraid of selling out to a white privileged world. At the same time, community and family support is elusive as he endures homophobic barbs from his black classmates, rejection by his father, and a disappointing shallow relationship with his handsome white lover. Then Perry meets Richard Bruce Nugent, a living relic, who was a poet and painter of the Harlem Renaissance, along with Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston and Wallace Thurman. Surreal narrative turns land him in the middle of scandalous parties and dinners in 1930s Harlem, and Perry learns that his struggle is not new and what is most important is a strong self-image and a commitment to preserve truth and nurture his artistic spirit. Thank you, Mr. Evans, for your strength of character and undeniable power to give voice to such a profound blend of Fact and Fiction.

This touching drama lets you see how growing up gay has changed over two generations in the African American community in the United States. I believe that this movie was one of the most under exposed looked movies of the year.

one of the best movies i've seen lately.
it's not so much the plot, but a picture that is drawn in great detail and with affection.
it's all about the encounter of a young gay artist and one of the last surviving writers of the Harlem Renaissance.

Rodney Evans has created a wondrous little independent film, that sort of film that is born out of insight, devotion, research, and passion for the story. This is a fine work of art on every level from the research, writing and directing by Evans to the consistently superb cast.

The Harlem Renaissance of the 1920s was a period during which African American artists bonded and overcame a doubting world to produce some of the finest work of the past century. Some artists of that period and the years following included Langston Hughes, Zora Neale Hurston, Wallace Thurman, Bruce Nugent and (stretching the time frame a bit) James Baldwin and Malcolm X. But the driving force of the intelligentsia of Black America was solidified by the first four who managed to be proudly Back, write about the taboo gay aspects of the community, and come together in the Journal FIRE! produced by the brilliant Thurman.

The film opens in contemporary times with Perry (Anthony Mackie) as a young gay artist, disowned by his family for his sexual preference, living in Harlem as a painter while supporting himself by working for a Homeless Shelter. Perry's friend Marcus (Larry Gilliard, Jr) is a poet and a firm supporter of Perry and even is supportive of Perry's involvement with a white young man Jim (Alex Burns) who becomes his mate. Perry thrashes about his homophobic environment, struggling with oppression and artistic block, until he encounters an old man at the Shelter who happens to be Bruce Nugent (Roger Robinson), a giant of a poet from another era.

Nugent informs Perry about the same issues of being black and gay that he had during the Harlem Renaissance and this is done through a series of effective black and white flashbacks where we meet the young Bruce (Duane Boutte), Lankston Hughes (Daniel Sunjata), Wallace Thurman (Ray Ford), and Zora Neale Hurston (Aunjanue Ellis) along with clips of the real James Baldwin, Malcolm X etc. It is this circle of continuity, relating historical social problems and artistic successes between the old and the present Harlem, which brings this film such resonance. The bond of brotherhood as personified by Perry and the older Bruce is pure magic, especially as portrayed by Mackie and Robinson.

The DVD includes a wonderfully informative commentary by Rodney Evans which is a stimulus to watch the movie again immediately. The film has message, style, class, and quality that make it one of the finer films about class, gender, and racial dichotomies and how very wasteful those prejudices are. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, June 05