Expanded from a one-act play, director Seth Zvi Rosenfeld's gritty urban drama opens in East Harlem during the '70s where brothers Mick and Lex live with their alcoholic mother (a fine turn by Cathy Moriarty). Lex, the elder, dreams of a pro basketball career; Mick, the younger brother, is a timid kid. After both are scarred by a terrible sexual attack in Central Park, the film flashes forward to the present, where we find Mick (Nick Chinlund) has grown up to be a loner cop and Lex is a strung-out junkie with a new wife (Rosie Perez) and baby. A kind of East of Eden for the '90s, A Brother's Kiss is a decent enough examination of the boundaries of sibling love and loyalty vs. society's laws, but the second half drags and the cameos (John Leguizamo, Marisa Tomei, Michael Rapaport) seem forced. Optional. (R. Pitman)
A Brother's Kiss
(BMG, 93 min., R, avail. July 28) Vol. 13, Issue 4
A Brother's Kiss
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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