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DVD Description
When Tom comes crashing into Jessica’s life from the boughs of a burning tree, she is both alarmed and intrigued by his dark nature. The woods are Tom’s sanctuary from his distressing home life and become the world where he and Jessica form a bond which is both powerful and uncompromising. A dark and emotionally raw tale of teenage love, Dom Rotheroe’s acclaimed directorial debut won the Golden Rose at the Sochi International Film Festival 2001 and the Herald Angel at the Edinburgh International Film Festival.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Set in suburban England, this film tackles difficult subjects in a dramatic way, featuring as it does the attempted seduction of a schoolgirl by her teacher, and the sexual abuse of a boy by his father. Both girl and boy find release through exploring their natural instincts in the `good wood`. Considering it was released almost ten years ago, it's relevance is sadly pertinent still, as it shows the hierarchy of the Catholic church as being complicit in the abuse.
The production is very professional and the acting very realistic: Ben Whishaw is superbly convincing as the troubled Tom. But the very uncomfortable nature of the film's subject, made all the more real by the writing and acting, means that this is a film that I am not sure I would want to watch again. Hence the three stars.
The production is very professional and the acting very realistic: Ben Whishaw is superbly convincing as the troubled Tom. But the very uncomfortable nature of the film's subject, made all the more real by the writing and acting, means that this is a film that I am not sure I would want to watch again. Hence the three stars.
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
I just bought My Brother Tom recently and watched it last night. I thought it was a very impressive film. The performances by both main characters are really strong- especially Ben Whishaw as Tom. The subject matter is in no way new or untreaded waters(abuse, young romance, escapism, puberty etc) but i really liked how this film dealt with it's themes. It managed to show the dark side very well while keeping it very beautiful with the camera work and certain scenes that had such an ethereal beauty to them.
The ending is unusual and not very definitive but it makes you think about it and i spent hours dwelling on it and the film overall afterwards. It really is a powerful film and one that i feel compelled to watch again quite soon.
While watching it i was reminded of two films that deal with similar issues: Mysterious Skin and Disco Pigs, both of which are two brilliant films that are well worth chekcing out and boast flawless performances by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Brady Corbett in MS and Cillian Murphy in DP. And if you've seen either of them and liked them i'd say you'll definitely enjoy My Brother Tom and i'd recommmend you check it out.
The ending is unusual and not very definitive but it makes you think about it and i spent hours dwelling on it and the film overall afterwards. It really is a powerful film and one that i feel compelled to watch again quite soon.
While watching it i was reminded of two films that deal with similar issues: Mysterious Skin and Disco Pigs, both of which are two brilliant films that are well worth chekcing out and boast flawless performances by Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Brady Corbett in MS and Cillian Murphy in DP. And if you've seen either of them and liked them i'd say you'll definitely enjoy My Brother Tom and i'd recommmend you check it out.
11 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
A rare decent film hailing from the UK. Jessica (who is perhaps around 16) attends a Catholic school for girls, and lives a standard middle-class existence. Her next-door neighbour, Jack, is one of her school teachers, and a friend of the family. On one occasion he expresses his attraction to Jessica, which turns into an unwanted encounter.
In the local woods Jessica meets a same-age male, Tom, an outsider with feral mannerisms - climbing trees, burying food - a creature of the forest. An unlikely pair - the snobbish Catholic girl and the inarticulate, physical lad - there is nevertheless an immediate, primal bond. Tom, who also is involved in unwanted encounters, builds Jessica an escapist, dream-world in the woods, where the two begin to merge identities.
Overall, it must be said that MY BROTHER TOM is visually-superb; beautifully filmed with confident and intimate camera play. Further, the bond between Tom and Jessica is dramatically and powerfully-depicted, their emotional and physical connection spiralling with palpable intensity.
Unfortunately, the screenplay is frequently pedestrian, the narratives never straying far from comforting stereotypes: bourgeois parents confused at their daughter's transformation into good-girl-turned-bad; the laughable caricature of the 'creepy next-door neighbour'; the priest who closes his mind to what he doesn't want to hear; the attempt to portray causal lines (self-harm, smoking, drugs); the tired utilization of a Shakespearian under-story, etc. More broadly, the theme of unwanted experiences is typically facile and implausible; although on the positive side it does (perhaps unintentionally) illuminate the absurdity of the CSA myths, and adequately demonstrates that a genuine and effective 'right to say no' is pointless without a concomitant 'right to say yes'.
Nevertheless, such flaws in the script can be largely forgiven, if one avoids the one-dimensionality of the narratives on offer and instead concentrates on the overall mood of the piece, and the enthralling intensity of the Tom-Jessica pairing. On which note, mention must be made of Ben Whishaw (as Tom), who is really outstanding in his challenging role and ultimately carries this film. If for no other reason, MY BROTHER TOM is well worth watching for Ben Whishaw's exquisite and captivating performance.
In the local woods Jessica meets a same-age male, Tom, an outsider with feral mannerisms - climbing trees, burying food - a creature of the forest. An unlikely pair - the snobbish Catholic girl and the inarticulate, physical lad - there is nevertheless an immediate, primal bond. Tom, who also is involved in unwanted encounters, builds Jessica an escapist, dream-world in the woods, where the two begin to merge identities.
Overall, it must be said that MY BROTHER TOM is visually-superb; beautifully filmed with confident and intimate camera play. Further, the bond between Tom and Jessica is dramatically and powerfully-depicted, their emotional and physical connection spiralling with palpable intensity.
Unfortunately, the screenplay is frequently pedestrian, the narratives never straying far from comforting stereotypes: bourgeois parents confused at their daughter's transformation into good-girl-turned-bad; the laughable caricature of the 'creepy next-door neighbour'; the priest who closes his mind to what he doesn't want to hear; the attempt to portray causal lines (self-harm, smoking, drugs); the tired utilization of a Shakespearian under-story, etc. More broadly, the theme of unwanted experiences is typically facile and implausible; although on the positive side it does (perhaps unintentionally) illuminate the absurdity of the CSA myths, and adequately demonstrates that a genuine and effective 'right to say no' is pointless without a concomitant 'right to say yes'.
Nevertheless, such flaws in the script can be largely forgiven, if one avoids the one-dimensionality of the narratives on offer and instead concentrates on the overall mood of the piece, and the enthralling intensity of the Tom-Jessica pairing. On which note, mention must be made of Ben Whishaw (as Tom), who is really outstanding in his challenging role and ultimately carries this film. If for no other reason, MY BROTHER TOM is well worth watching for Ben Whishaw's exquisite and captivating performance.
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