Bluray Review - Brotherhood (2016)

First came Kidulthood, then came Adulthood, now we have Brotherhood, the final film in the trilogy.

This film finds Noel Clarke back as Sam Peel, the former bully in search of redemption. Sam’s now got a family and works four jobs trying to support them. All seems reasonably stable until a relative of Trife from the first film rocks up seeking a few polite words… He sets an elaborate trap to derail Sam’s life and drag him back into a world of crime and violence. Who will survive and what will be left of them? And what’s more dangerous than a man with nothing to lose? You’ll find out!

This is Noel Clarke so everything is meticulously structured, endearingly heartfelt and bears almost no relation to reality. If you don’t stop to wonder why Sam is stuck in these contrived borderline-surreal Kafkaesque situations, and just let the script and the action and the blinding energy of the film take you away, you’ll have a great time with Brotherhood. The grime/R&B soundtrack is lit and gives it a real push. Stormzy, in a supporting role, delivers a vibrant, warm performance although Arnold Oceng, as the comic relief, maybe steals the show.

I feel like this was a satisfying ending to the series and I have always been a fan of Noel Clarke – the writing was captivating and the cinematography was beautifully shot.

Special features include a 40 minute making of documentary. It’s a pretty basic behind the scenes look at the making of the film but it’s interesting enough. It’s a bit strange as Clarke at one point takes credit for some of the cast members present and future careers, he says that they have other film roles because they were in his films. I don’t know if he meant it like that but that’s what it sounded like.

7 minutes of deleted scenes are included which contains a hanging scene. I’m glad it wasn’t included.

A commentary with director Noel Clarke and producer/actor Jason Maza is an informative but fun track. It goes into casting choices, production and location troubles etc. They play off each other really well and it’s very laid back, it’s an easy listen. A couple of music videos round off the disc.