My Brother the Devil
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySally El Hosaini
Written bySally El Hosaini
StarringJames Floyd
Fady Elsayed
Saïd Taghmaoui
CinematographyDavid Raedeker
Edited byIain Kitching
Music byStuart Earl
Release dates
  • 22 January 2012 (2012-01-22) (Sundance)
  • 9 November 2012 (2012-11-09) (United Kingdom)
  • 22 March 2013 (2013-03-22) (United States)
Running time
111 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Box office$1,200,100[1]

My Brother the Devil is a 2012 British crime drama film written and directed by Sally El Hosaini. It stars James Floyd, Fady Elsayed and Saïd Taghmaoui. It tells the story of two sons of Egyptian immigrants coming of age in east London. It was released in the UK on 9 November 2012 and debuted in US cinemas on 22 March 2013. It was also released in Canada, Germany, Australia and New Zealand.

The film won multiple awards, including Best Cinematography at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival and Best European Film at the 2012 Berlin International Film Festival.

Plot

Mo and Rashid "Rash" are teenage brothers of Egyptian descent living with their parents in Hackney. Elder brother Rash is fiercely protective of Mo, giving him a TV when he does well and encouraging him to stay in school. However Mo begins to want to emulate Rash who works as a low level drug dealer, and is able to use money from his job to pay for small luxuries to make their lives more comfortable.

Mo is robbed by rival gang members while trying to do a drop-off for his brother. He calls Rash and his friends later when he spots the gang members at the corner store near where he lives. The confrontation between Rash's gang and his rival Demon's gang quickly grows violent and after Demon's dog is stabbed Demon retaliates by stabbing and killing Izzi, Rash's best friend.

Rash acquires a gun and plans to shoot Demon in retaliation. He finds Demon at a tattoo parlour but is unable to complete the task after seeing that Demon's little brother is there, wearing the shoes he lifted from Mo. Rash begins to dream of getting out of the gang the way Izzi was planning on doing before he was murdered. He grows close to Sayyid, a French photographer who had been helping Izzi to get legal employment. After he tells Sayyid that he wants to leave the gang Sayyid offers him a job as a photography assistant working with him.

Mo begins to grow jealous of Rash and Sayyid's increasing closeness and the respect that Rash has for him. When he is offered the opportunity to join Rash's gang as a dealer he takes it. In the meantime Sayyid kisses Rashid while they are playing around. Initially repulsed at the idea of kissing another man, Rash tries to go back to his old lifestyle. However he finds himself changed and ends up going back to Sayyid and starting a relationship with him. Mo, growing suspicious that Rash is not in fact working, goes to Sayyid's home to spy and sees the two men undressed and realizes what is going on. Angry at his brother, Mo continues to deal drugs and become further entrenched in Rash's old gang. Eventually Rash finds Mo's money and drugs. He confronts his former friends telling them that he will kill Demon in exchange for them allowing Mo to walk away from the drug business and his family to stay safe and unharmed. Upset that Rash has isolated him from his "family" Mo ends up telling Rash's former girlfriend Vanessa that Rash is gay. She spreads it around the neighbourhood and Rash's former friends give him the address of a house belonging to Demon which is actually a set up so they can kill Rash. However Rash manages to escape from the house.

The day after Rash's escape some of his friends go to Mo and tell him that Rash was hurt killing Demon and is hiding out at Sayyid's place. Mo goes with them but becomes suspicious when he sees plastic gloves, the kind that the gang uses for killings, hanging out of one of the men's pockets. Mo leads his friend to the apartment adjacent to Sayyid's. His friend pulls a gun on the woman who answers the door, and when she screams Rash and Sayyid come running out of his building. Mo ends up taking a bullet for Rash as his former friend gets in the car and runs away.

At the hospital Rash is approached by his parents who tell him that Mo will be okay and ask him to forget about Sayyid and come home. Rash refuses.

Sometime later when Mo has been released from the hospital he is approached by Rash outside the building where he lives. He and Rash have a brief conversation and he tells Rash that the family is fine and he doesn't need to return. After they hug Rash walks off towards his new life.

Cast

Reception

The film received critical acclaim for its direction and performances.[2][3][4][5] David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter called it "A crackling debut...Slick, muscular, entertaining and emotionally satisfying",[6] while Empire described it as "a compelling gangland saga...crisp, cool and consistently street-smart".[7] John Anderson of Variety said the film is "an energetic and imaginative tale...a film that so artfully refuses to surrender to convention".[8]

It holds a 90% "Certified Fresh" approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 52 reviews, with an average rating of 7.2/10. The critical consensus states that "A tough, tender tale of familial angst with careful attention to detail, My Brother the Devil is a strong debut from director Sally El Hosaini."[9]

Awards and nominations

References

  1. ↑ "My Brother the Devil (2013)". Boxofficemojo.com.
  2. ↑ Gibbs, Ed (27 January 2012). "Ice-T leads the dance in the Utah mountains - Features - Films". The Independent. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
  3. 1 2 Doggart, Sebastian (8 February 2012). "British film continues to shine at Sundance". Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
  4. ↑ "Sundance 2012 Daily Blog: Day 9". TotalFilm.com. 28 January 2012. Archived from the original on 28 January 2012. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
  5. ↑ D’Arcy, David (25 January 2012). "My Brother the Devil". Screendaily.com.
  6. ↑ Rooney, David (29 January 2012). "My Brother the Devil: Sundance Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
  7. ↑ Lodge, Guy (5 December 2006). "My Brother The Devil". Empireonline.com. Archived from the original on 5 July 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
  8. ↑ Anderson, John (26 January 2012). "My Brother the Devil - Sundance Reviews". Variety. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
  9. ↑ "My Brother the Devil". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
  10. ↑ Roxborough, Scott (17 February 2012). "Berlin 2012: 'My Brother the Devil' Wins Europa Cinema Label Prize". The Hollywood Reporter.
  11. ↑ "David Raedeker wins Best Cinematography award at Sundance". Unitedagents.com.
  12. ↑ "Sundance Institute and WorldView to Present New Awards at Sundance London". Deadline.com. 23 April 2012.
  13. ↑ "BFI London Film Festival announces 2012 award winners". BFI. 20 October 2012.
  14. ↑ "Festival 'showcases' film talent". BBC News. 17 October 2012.
  15. ↑ "Sally El Hosaini". bifa.film. 12 October 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  16. ↑ "BIFA Guide 2012: Nominations for the Douglas Hickox Award". Raindance.org. 28 November 2012.
  17. ↑ "El Hosaini's film about gangs wins her gong at Evening Standard Film". Independent.co.uk. 4 February 2013. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022.
  18. ↑ "Evening Standard Film Awards for 2012: Most Promising Newcomer". Standard.co.uk. 29 January 2013.
  19. ↑ "My Brother the Devil triumphs at Outfest 2012". Screendaily.com. 22 July 2012.
  20. ↑ "My Brother the Devil (2012]". film-critic.com. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  21. ↑ Masters, Tim (10 December 2012). "Broken wins top indie film prize". BBC News.
  22. ↑ "MIFF Film Festival Awards 2014 - Milano". Miff.it.
  23. ↑ "In Darkness wins Manaki Brothers' Golden Camera 300". Screendaily.com. 24 September 2012.
  24. ↑ "My Brother the Devil". Frameline Film Festival. Archived from the original on 4 October 2015. Retrieved 11 September 2015.
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