Brother's Keeper (Movie Review)

The best thing, worst thing, and main thing about Christian movie "Brother's Keeper" in about the time it takes to watch the trailer.

 

TEXT REVIEW:

 This is what happens when you keep buying tickets to low quality movies just because you agree with the message. They keep making more of them.
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“Brother’s Keeper” is the latest Christploitation film to hit the big screen this year, this one about twin brothers who find themselves dealing with a tragedy that will ultimate change both of their lives. The story is about forgiveness, grace, and the confusion of evil and injustice in a world created by a God who hates both. Certainly a message that resonates deeply with Christian’s, like myself, and exactly what you might have come to expect from a movie like this. You know what else we’ve come to expect? The lousy acting and production value. But let me say this first, there’s actually a really interesting story here.
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It’s nice to see a movie like this taking some chances with structure and twists, emphasizing meaning through the way the story turns rather than what it preaches. Certainly much of it is implausible but I think with a better production team there is a story here that could have been polished up quite nicely. I also like the growing trend of known actors being landed for roles. It was fun to see Michael Rooker hop in for an extended cameo, and Ray Wise performed quite nicely in a central role. It’s a move towards quality that I applaud even if there is a long way to go.
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And yes, there is still a long way to go. Especially with the lead acting. One thing with a movie about twins? If you don’t have the effects budget to cut and paste your lead actor Patty Duke style you actually have to hire twins. Is Patty Duke even a reference anyone will get? Should I go Winklevoss Twins form Social Network? Point being, it’s hard to find one good actor for a movie like this, let alone a set of twins that can both act. Now, It’s not that they didn’t know how to perform, it’s just that they.. and many others.. seemed to have a case of the 11s. Every moment the intensity and emotion seemed to be cranked to 11 and it was strained and distracting. It’s the worst thing about the movie. I mean, I’m not an actor, but it seems like you would be better off picking your moments to really sink your teeth in, so the variety would create more genuine emotion. Plus the end of this movie is so syrupy and drawn out that it squanders any of the good will it might have gained from the interesting plot movements.
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In the end, “Brother’s Keeper” is another Christian film where the acting and production fail miserably to live up to the beauty of the message. Even an interesting bit of story structure and a couple known actors can only bring it up to a D+.
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