My Brother’s Keeper

 

Picture: C     Sound: C+     Extras: C     Film: C

 

 

Playing twins is usually a doomed proposition and Aaron Ashmore falls into that trap for the worse in Jordan Barker’s film, My Brother’s Keeper, set in a small industrial town suffering the usual post-Industrial Age decline as he works as one brother works at a metals factory.  The way out here is the sport of Rowing, which both brothers are good at, but only one gets the scholarship based on the sport to go to a college they would not afford otherwise.

 

The biggest problem is that it is the same story we have seen a thousand times before with the same tired gimmick.  Ashmore simply cannot make enough of a distinguishing performance between the two characters and Barker simply is clueless as how to direct him, possibly too distracted by making the visual effects look good to handle the acting properly.  Acting is actually flat throughout, as is the David Wiechodrek screenplay.  This is aimed at a young teen audience and we have seen worse, but My Brother’s Keeper ultimately is unable to row itself out of boredom and the lack of energy throughout does not help matters.

 

The letterboxed 1.85 X 1 image was shot on Fuji film stock, but this transfer does not do enough with Levko Mojsovski’s at least profession film work is lacking detail that is definitely something that would be there in the film print.  Color is not gutted and shots are clean.  The Dolby Digital 2.0 mix has some Pro Logic surrounds, but they are weak.  Extras include the original stage play, original theatrical trailer, Pylons Music Video, on-camera interview with producer Jeff Deverett & director Barker footage from the Twinsburg promo screening and Animatic storyboards of selected scenes.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo