Brothers By Blood (2020) Film Review
When my sister wanted to immerse herself in a good story, I loaned her my copy of Emile Zola’s novel “L’Assommoir”. Several days later, she called me somewhat distressed, “I just want to know one thing. Does she make it?” My sister was referring to the novel’s protagonist, Gervaise; a woman who attempts to escape the bonds of heredity and environment but ultimately perishes in a haze of alcoholism and poverty.
The main characters in “Brothers by Blood”, based on Pete Dexter’s novel “Brotherly Love”, are similarly struggling to survive in the environment and family circumstances to which they are born. I think it is no coincidence that a compatriot of Zola’s, writer-director Jeremie Guez, was drawn to this material. The brothers referenced in the title are actually cousins and Michael (Joel Kinnaman) is the individual who most closely resembles Gervaise. Unaware of the outside forces coalescing against him, Michael’s life is already cascading downhill as the film opens.
Michael, as his father before him, heads a small mob operation in Philadelphia that engages in construction rackets and loan sharking. His cousin Peter (Matthias Schoenaerts) functions as a trusted second-in-command. When the Italian mafia starts to muscle in on their territory, the more cautious and introspective Peter advises negotiation with their rivals. Michael, however, is an emotional hothead. When he murders one of the Italians’ emissaries, a peaceful resolution of the dispute is rendered futile.
A dual narrative is presented in flashbacks, memories of Peter’s disrupted childhood which he cannot shake. Peter’s sister is killed in the street when a driver’s car skids out of control. His mother suffers a mental breakdown and is institutionalized. His father, despite warnings from more senior gangsters, murders the police officer responsible for the accident. He is subsequently killed, as well. Peter, effectively an orphan, is taken in by his uncle and raised as Michael’s brother.
The tension in the present-day narrative peaks when Peter learns it was his uncle who carried out the hit on his father. The question of family loyalty, how much one member owes another, is an important subtext in the film. After Michael is shot, he admonishes Peter saying, “You have to be on my side. You’re the only one I can trust.” As the plot demonstrates, however, when family bonds are pitted against greed, money is the victor. Critics, of course, have written on filmmakers’ use of organized crime stories as a metaphor for unfettered capitalism (“The Godfather” trilogy, in particular). The phrase “gangster capitalism” has entered the lexicon. Siblings murder each other in both “The Godfather” and “Brothers by Blood”; the importance of maintaining the financial/crime network overrides the allegiance to ancestral ties.
I appreciated writer-director Jeremie Guez’s approach to this material. He keeps the focus on character and does not sensationalize the story. Although profanity abounds in the dialogue (Michael rarely utters a sentence without dropping the f-bomb), the majority of the physical violence happens off-screen. There is no gratuitous female nudity in “Brothers by Blood”, no superfluous scenes set in strip clubs. I should also mention actor Paul Schneider. While I had a negative reaction to his performance in “The Daughter” (my review is here on Selective Focus), Schneider redeems himself playing Peter’s childhood friend, Jimmy.
The film ends ambiguously, with the viewer left to decide if Peter will escape his environment or live the attenuated, violent life to which he is heir. Is it better to be part of a dysfunctional family, and receive some protection, or attempt an escape into the unknown? European directors seem more comfortable raising these types of questions and letting the audience discover their own answers.
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Stream “Brothers by Blood” on Amazon Video.