Frequently Bought Together
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Product details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
Reviews
From Amazon.co.uk
This riveting series puts a familial spin on Angels with Dirty Faces, the 1938 James Cagney-Pat O'Brien classic in which two childhood friends take divergent paths--one becomes a priest, and the other a hoodlum. In Brotherhood, Michael Caffee (Jason Clarke) is an idealistic and respectable Rhode Island state representative dedicated to the preservation of his close-knit lower-middle-class Irish neighbourhood, the Hill. His older brother, Michael (Jason Isaacs), is a gangster who returns home after a seven-year absence (one step ahead of a hit, two steps ahead of the Feds) to pick up where he left off. The stage is set for backroom skullduggery and mean streets thuggery, as both men pursue their visions of the American dream on opposite sides of the law. At the heart of this series is the conflict between the estranged brothers. With the exception of clueless matriarch MaryRose (Fionnula Flanagan), Michael is not exactly received with open arms. "You're a tornado," Tommy tells him early on. "You suck everything in and spit it out broken." Indeed, the man is a psychopath. When a henchman of neighbourhood mob boss Freddie Cork (Kevin Chapman) threatens a woman, Michael not only repeatedly bashes his head against a car, but for the coup de grace, cuts off his ear. In one gut-wrenching scene, he compels a woman to sell him her store by inducing her mentally challenged brother to play Russian Roulette. No wonder Tommy insists, "We're not the same in any way." But don't be too sure. Michael is a good man and devoted father and husband, but he isn't above (or beneath) using Michael's inside information to blackmail a stubborn colleague who won't vote his way on a freeway project that could destroy the Hill.
As the season unfolds, he will be forced to make more ethically challenged deals with the powers behind the scenes, one of whom has a mysterious connection with his mother. Brotherhood mines the clash between personal and professional lives to flesh out its characters. "The people's business" doesn't pay well, and Tommy is forced to moonlight as a real estate developer, and perform all home repairs. Eileen (Annabeth Gish), his picture-perfect politician's wife, smokes pot and is having an affair with a man she knew in high school. Declan Gigg (Ethan Embry) is a conflicted policeman who grew up with the Caffees. Comparisons with The Sopranos are inevitable, but Brotherhood quickly establishes its own unique voice, if not accent. --Donald Liebenson
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
40 of 42 people found the following review helpful
By R. Townsley
Format:DVD
I first came across this programme on the excellent FX channel, from the moment I watched the opening scenes I gripped by the gritty realism and the fashion in which the characters were established. If you are a fan of 'The Sopranos' and 'The Wire' - then you will love this! This programme can punch its weight with both of them in terms of characterisation; analysis of criminality and its relationship with politics; plus its study of cultural identity within a pluraistic society.
The story is a simple premise. Two brothers, one a criminal, the other, a low level politician representing a deprived area in Rhode Island. They live different lives, but ultimately their existence becomes intwined with each other; in what is essentially an exploration of family loyaly and its effects on a tightly knit community.
In this review I have intentionally tried to avoid giving away plot points.
If you love realistic, gritty television that has an epic quality similar to 'The Godfather' and an exploration of the complexities of criminality in the vein of 'The Wire'. Then you will love this programme!!!
The story is a simple premise. Two brothers, one a criminal, the other, a low level politician representing a deprived area in Rhode Island. They live different lives, but ultimately their existence becomes intwined with each other; in what is essentially an exploration of family loyaly and its effects on a tightly knit community.
In this review I have intentionally tried to avoid giving away plot points.
If you love realistic, gritty television that has an epic quality similar to 'The Godfather' and an exploration of the complexities of criminality in the vein of 'The Wire'. Then you will love this programme!!!
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
By E. A. Wrench
Format:DVD
I'm not even sure how I found out about this show (I think it must have been because I knew that Jason Isaacs was in it!!)but from the first moment I was hooked. The episodes are well crafted and there is a very dark undertone to the whole show, much darker than say The Sopranos - HBO Complete Seasons 1-6 (New Packaging) [DVD] [1999]. This is not a show for people looking for a bit of escapism but a show that really highlights great acting and gritty realism.
I urge you to try it out and hopefully if enough people get hooked like me, then they will release the entire catalogue for everyone to enjoy!!!
I urge you to try it out and hopefully if enough people get hooked like me, then they will release the entire catalogue for everyone to enjoy!!!
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
By M. K. Bain
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Started subscribing to top up tv service and had series two downloaded to my box. Watched the first episode and was hooked. So purchased series one and loving it. Brilliant series
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
›
Go to Amazon.com to see all 99 reviews
4.3 out of 5 stars
Were these reviews helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
brotherhood series
I really like this series - Jason Isaacs (who is from my home town of Liverpool, UK) is a brilliant actor, and I feel it sad that the series ended after just 3 series. Read more
Published 28 days ago by diamondback
5.0 out of 5 stars
A great series
I watched this when it first came out. Now my nephew is 18 I'm rewatching all the great old series he was to young to at the time.
This is up there with th best.
This is up there with th best.
Published 2 months ago by S. A. Hughes
4.0 out of 5 stars
Not The Sopranos , but still worth watching
We ordered this simply because we had already seen all of the other series that we wanted that were available. Read more
Published 20 months ago by EMB
4.0 out of 5 stars
Brotherhood
very good story about two irish brothers in Rhode Island. One a gangster and the other an ambitious politician. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Mr. Stephen E. Tanner
1.0 out of 5 stars
Character Wasteland
A premise as simple as "two brothers on opposite sides of the law" can make a good or bad show depending on how it's fleshed out. Read more
Published on 24 Oct 2010 by Carmen
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sibling rivalry
Now ended after three relatively successful seasons in the US (airing alongside Dexter on Showtime) Brotherhood provides a drama as intriguing and as violent as the Sopranos. Read more
Published on 27 Aug 2010 by P. Rowe
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sopranos little brother!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Great show, great actors and great dialogs!
Simple story of 2 brothers in an irish neighbourhood called the hill. Read more
Simple story of 2 brothers in an irish neighbourhood called the hill. Read more
Published on 15 Mar 2009 by Nils ( cooking star )
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not a Sopranos replacement
A few ad's led me to believe that this would be of simular TV to The Sopranos which got me to give it a go. Read more
Published on 12 Mar 2008 by The usual suspect
4.0 out of 5 stars
Sibling rivalry
An aspiring Irish-American state representative,Tommy Caffee finds his plans going awry when his violent mob connected brother turns up out of the blue. Read more
Published on 22 Jan 2008 by Mr. David C. Halliday
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/02/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192198663_.gif){kind=small}
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
