Brothers of the Head (2005)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Directors:

Keith Fulton
Louis Pepe

Writers:

Brian Aldiss (novel)
Tony Grisoni (screenplay)

Release Date:

6 October 2006 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Music

Tagline:

For some people... Rock & Roll was always a freak show.

Plot:

In the 1970s a music promoter plucks Siamese twins from obscurity and grooms them into a freakish rock'n'roll act. A dark tale of sex, strangeness and rock music. |

Plot Keywords:

Twins | Brothers | Incest | Punk | Conjoined Twins

Awards:

2 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Jonathan Pryce	...	Henry Couling
Harry Treadaway	...	Tom Howe
John Simm	...	Boatman
Luke Treadaway	...	Barry Howe
Sean Harris	...	Nick Sidney
Ken Russell	...	Himself
James Greene	...	Brian Aldiss
Elizabeth Rider	...	Roberta Howe
Luke Wagner	...	Young Zak
Anna Nygh	...	Zak's Mum / Rita Bedderwick
Howard Attfield	...	Zak Bedderwick
Edward Hogg	...	Chris Dervish (as Ed Hogg)
Bryan Dick	...	Paul Day - 1970's
Nicholas Millard	...	Tubs
David Kennedy	...	Paul Day - Present day

MPAA:

Rated R for language, drug use and sexuality.

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

UK:18 | USA:Not Rated | USA:R | Ireland:16 | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Portugal:M/16 | Australia:MA (2008)

Filming Locations:

Blakeney Point, Norfolk, England, UK

Company:

Potboiler Productions

Quotes:

Barry Howe: What are you writing about?
Laura Ashworth - 1970's: Well, you guys specifically.
Barry Howe: What about us?
Laura Ashworth - 1970's: Well, you know, you're kind of... you know, you're different. Young and exciting.
Barry Howe: Young, exciting, what else? Give me a- give me a third.
Laura Ashworth - 1970's: Listen, I'm actually writing an article about exploitation of the physically impaired.
Barry Howe: [long pause] Speak to Tubbs, he's got a dodgy ankle.

Movie Connections:

References Tommy (1975)

interesting, weird, but overall, not very satisfying

This "mockumentary" has been kind of described like "This is Spinal Tap" minus the humor. Well, that really doesn't do it justice. In watching this you don't get the sense that you're looking at something that's merely "made up".

What we have here is probably the weirdest rock band gimmick ever thought of...conjoined twins fronting a band called "Bang Bang". This takes place before the real outset of punk rock in England, but the sound and the mindset is every bit as mean and nasty as when punk first came out. The brothers were sold to a promoter when they were young, and they were more or less groomed to fit this role (or, these roles). At first people are rather shocked when it's revealed that the brothers are attached, because at first people seemed to think there was some OTHER reason they seemed to be hanging all over each other. Nope, it's merely out of lack of choice.

Of course, with "fame" comes pressure, and drug and alcohol consumption, and then at a potentially successful gig, something happens that stops everything in its tracks & the brothers isolate themselves to resolve their issues, and not necessarily in a way that will lift your spirits.

This is definitely an interesting film, and weird, and pulled off with little in the way of hitches, as far as re-creating the time period. The music is great, too, at least, for the most part. There's just something about it that I didn't ultimately find very satisfying though, and I can't really put my finger on it. Still though, it's well worth a look for fans of the odd, and of course, some will like it more than others. 6 out of 10.