Brothers of the Head

Brothers of the Head **

"Brothers of the Head" is a grim, haunting, and truely twisted rock mockumentary. But, then again, I wouldn't expect anything less from the British. And sadly, wile this had the makings of a great film, I just wish they used the story as more of a dramatic fashion, as opposed to the mockumentary style that it uses. I unserstand that it's important to rate and discuss the film that is presented to you, but I just couldn't get by the way that I would have preferred this story to be told. Me and the mockumentary never really got along anyway.

"Brothers of the Head" stars Harry and Luke Treadaway as a pair of conjoined twins, connected by a small patch of skin next to their stomachs. They share a liver, and if they were disconnected, there would be a good chance that only one of them would make it. Named Tom and Barry, they are sold by their father to a music promoter, and they begin their musical oddessey. With one of them doing the singing, and the other doing the guitar, the two form of a duo that is popular with scores of people. However, not everybody finds them appealing. Some people find the act downright sick and disgusting. And that catches the eye of Laura, a woman who is doing an article about the fact that the physically impaired are sometimes taken advantage of. But, instead she ends up succombing to the boys charm, and becomes more a groupie, and a constant love interest. And this is where the love triangle opens up.

"Brothers of the Head" is a gothic love story, but not just between Laura and the two brothers. It's more about the love of the two brothers. How they are always together, and the thought of being disconnected just makes them sick. There's a scene where the interviewer asks them if they would ever consider becoming disconnected, and one says "Maybe when the other one dies," and the other brother says "Nah, we'll die together." It's tragic, the two brothers are very different from each other, but they manage to find love. They are bonded, and no matter how quiet and content Tom is, and how wild and rude Barry is, they will always love one another. It's sweet, really.

And yet, I would have preferred if this was a narrative, linear story, without the mockumentary style interferring. The genre just didn't work here. I guess the fact that it seems more like reality makes it a bit more creeping and haunting, but I could have enjoyed the story if it was told in a different fashion. Most of the action takes place in the 1970's, with some Super-8 like videos, and a "documentary" that was taken about the boys years before. However, the "documentarians" interview the present down counterparts, played by different actors as their younger selfs. However, these present day versions look so much like the people that play them in the 70's, that I was shocked to learn that they weren't the same people, just with a good makeup job. I feel bad, because I really wanted to like "Brothers of the Head." It was something that I would classical love. It's dark, it's scarier than any horror film, it's witty, it's smart, but I just couldn't get past the style. It bores me, and I felt the directors were trying too hard. It even became very predictable towards the end. How the downfall of the brothers end up being a woman. How a woman changes and breaks the bond formed between two brothers. I'll admit, the downfall of the brothers happens in a much more original, and freaky way than the convential love triangle story, but it still was a downfall, and once Laura comes into th epicture, you know exactly how the story is going to go. Like I said, the same story, only minus the mockumentary style, would have made this a much better film. I can see it now. . .