Synopsis
Fourteen-year-old Mo is a lonely, sensitive boy whose hunger for the rant and banter of buddies makes him prone to tread dangerous territories. He idolizes his handsome older brother, Rashid, a charismatic, well-respected member of a local gang, whose drug dealing enables “Rash” to provide for his family. Aching to be seen as a tough guy himself, Mo takes a job that unlocks a fateful turn of events and forces the brothers to confront their inner demons. It turns out that hate is easy. It is love and understanding that take real courage.
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Cast
- James FloydRashid
- Fady ElsayedMo
- Saïd TaghmaouiSayyid
- Aymen HamdouchiRepo
- Ashley ThomasLenny
- Anthony WelshIzzi
- Arnold OcengAj
- Letitia WrightAisha
- Amira GhazallaHanan
- Elarica JohnsonVanessa
Recommendations
- 80
The Guardian
It's an athletic, loose-limbed piece of movie-making, not perfect, but bursting with energy and adrenaline. - 80
Empire
Already a compelling gangland saga, this vastly promising debut turns into something more surprising when social prejudice becomes the characters’ weapon of choice. If that sounds too much like a lecture, El Hosaini’s voice remains crisp, cool and consistently street-smart. - 80
Total Film
What distinguishes My Brother The Devil is El Hosaini’s maturity in avoiding faux-doc grittiness, political grandstanding or flashy glorification in favour of an intimate, closely observed character piece. - 80
The Hollywood Reporter
While on the surface, this is a variation on boyz-in-the-‘hood dramatic staples, the film is rooted in anglicized Arab culture yet universally accessible in its reflections on identity issues. It’s a very promising debut – slick, muscular, entertaining and emotionally satisfying. - 80
Variety
An energetic and imaginative tale of siblings at a criminal crossroads and a street movie that is imaginatively, even poetically, shot, the pic nonetheless remains rooted in the turmoil of an immigrant British demimonde. - 80
Village Voice
Despite its moral seriousness, the film's a crowd-pleaser, boasting tense set pieces, a raucous polyglot of voices and accents, beauty-in-poverty streetscapes, and two warm, brawling, big-hearted leads. - 75
Observer
It’s far superior to what usually comes out of the British slums in the genre of gangland thrillers. - 70
NPR
Shot entirely in Hackney — a mostly ungentrified London borough — My Brother the Devil has a strong odor of authenticity.
