My Brother the Devil.

MY BROTHER THE DEVIL.

Key cast: James Floyd and Fady Elsayed.

Genre: Drama and social realism

Writer: Sally EL Hosaini

Director: Sally El Hosaini

Themes:  Crime and friend/relationship

Release: November 2012

Budget: (gross) $10,305

My Brother the Devil is a social realism drama that shows the life of Egyptian brothers growing up on an estate in London. Whilst both brothers are deep in drug dealing and gang violence, they must both must face dramatic changes which cause problems for both home life and friendships.

Key Scenes:

One of the most important scenes within the film is the scene in which the youngest brother (Mo) tells everyone that his brother (Rashid) is a terrorist rather than saying that his brother is gay. This shows to the audience that Mo would rather his brother be a terrorist than being gay. This also implies that being gay and living in a rough London estate is hard and dangerous as people won’t accept them. This scene is also important as it shows how the relationship between the brothers has fallen apart as they both want to lead different lives.

Micro-features:

Mise-en-scene: Location is important in the film as it back up the idea of living with crime. The protagonists live on a rough estate in London. This shows to the audience why they are a part of the drug and gang culture as both the boys especially Rashid want to escape from living on the estate with hardly any money. They want a new life. By focusing on the boys lives on the estate shows that allot of crime goes on in places like that, but no one can really control it.

Performance: Performance is very important in the film as it shows to the audience that the boys aren’t all that they seem. Rashid is involved with gangs and drugs. The audience assumes that Rashid is not a very nice person and that he is not going to achieve anything. But the audience’s perception of the Rashid changes when he puts money in his mum’s purse to help out with the bills. This shows to the audience that although he is involved with crime, he still has good intentions.

Comparable: This film is similar to AnuvaHood as it also focuses on teenagers/young adults growing up on estates. They both show how crime is common on rough estates and how young people get involved with drugs and other crime. This relates to living with crime as it shows how teenagers are being dragged into crime and violence by gangs. Both films show how teenagers become peer pressured into doing things that are against the law.