My Brother Tom (2001)

Director:

Dom Rotheroe

Writers:

Alison Beeton-Hilder (writer)
Dom Rotheroe (writer)

Release Date:

16 November 2001 (UK)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A teenage girl, Jessica, befriends a teenage boy called Tom, who is bullied by a local gang. She is abused by Jack...

Plot Keywords:

Teenage Boy | Wood | Nudity | Loyalty | Bonding

Awards:

8 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Jenna Harrison	...	Jessica
Ben Whishaw	...	Tom
Honeysuckle Weeks	...	Sarah
Michael Erskine	...	Ian
Adrian Rawlins	...	Jack
Judith Scott	...	Jessica's Mum
Michael Tucek	...	Gang Leader
Michael Power	...	Gang Sidekick
Daniel Bliss	...	Gang Boy
Adam Paul Harvey	...	Gang Boy
Craig Vye	...	Gang Boy
Richard Hope	...	Jessica's Dad
Emily Barrett	...	Nicola
Patrick Godfrey	...	Father Felix
Jonathan Hackett	...	Tom's Dad

Runtime:

111 min | Netherlands:109 min (Rotterdam Film Festival)

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Germany:16 | UK:18

Filming Locations:

Bricket Wood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company:

British Screen Productions

Movie Connections:

Referenced in From Dogma to Dogville: Don't Try This at Home (2006)

Soundtrack:

Come on Eileen

Surely Dogme inspired

The way it is haphazardly edited, the poor quality of the sound and the general disturbed nature of the plot and it's character's, all suggest that Dom Rotheroe has been watching too much of Lars von Trier at al.

We begin with 15 minutes of absolutely nothing - walking to and from school, little dialogue, little plot development apart from a hedgehog and the odd jump from a tree. But this laboured pacing sets us up for the almost 'mentioned-in-passing' rape of a young schoolgirl by her teacher. In her own bedroom. With her mother downstairs in the living room. We know from here that what we are watching is pretty serious stuff.

With an air of 'Heavenly Creatures', the two kids become almost inseparable, stripping off but doing little more than feeling each other and banging foreheads - we are shown an extremely intense relationship between two seriously messed up children.

I thought I recognised the girl who played Jessica from somewhere else, but looking at her bio there is nothing on there that rings a bell. She puts in an impressive performance which she'll probably never match, and one which I'm sure she'd be disappointed has only been witnessed by a small number.

On the whole, the film was very engaging and very hard-hitting - but the biggest compliment I can give, is that I'm pretty sure Mr von Trier would have loved it.