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Brothers of the Head
IFC Films


8.2

based on 25 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

based on 10 votes
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FILM:

Lost in La Mancha

MPAA RATING: R for language, drug use and sexuality

Starring Harry Treadaway, Luke Treadaway, Tom Bower, Bryan Dick, Steven Eagles, Tania Emery, Sean Harris, Nicholas Millard, and Ken Russell

Brothers in the Head is the feverish, mind-bending odyssey of conjoined twins Tom and Barry Howe who were plucked from obscurity by a 1970s music promoter and groomed into a boy band. (IFC Films)

GENRE(S):	Drama \| Foreign
WRITTEN BY:	Tony Grisoni Brian Aldiss (novel)
DIRECTED BY:	Keith Fulton Louis Pepe
RELEASE DATE:	DVD: November 14, 2006 Theatrical: July 28, 2006
RUNNING TIME:	90 minutes, Color
ORIGIN:	UK

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100

Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir

It's terrific! Shot by the brilliant cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle ("Dogville," "28 Days Later," etc.) and anchored by amazing performances from identical (but not conjoined) twins Harry and Luke Treadaway, Brothers of the Head is not a freak show, or a knockoff "Rocky Horror" camp celebration. It's a work of powerful atmosphere and significant mystery. Plus, it rocks.

100

Seattle Post-Intelligencer Gianni Truzzi

It's pretty weird stuff, and filmmakers Keith Fulton and Luis Pepe embrace it with a layer of cinematic gauze that builds a pounding energy to this hypnotic twisting of rock legend.

The Hollywood Reporter Sheri Linden

A work of terrific imagination, visceral punch and gothic beauty.

Austin Chronicle Marc Savlov

It ends up seeming more real and more artistically, morally, and spiritually honest than any dozen bedrock documentary films you'd care to name.

LA Weekly Chuck Wilson

Yes, this is another faux rock documentary, but one so dramatically and visually textured that it reinvents that decidedly worn genre.

Film Threat KJ Doughton

Like a good rock record, Brothers of the Head isn't easily explained. But its original fusion of real and surreal will cling to your cranium for years.

New York Daily News Jack Mathews

This is a very tender portrayal of young people caught up in a blisteringly fast and cynical world, and though their music is hideous, they are a compelling act.

TV Guide Ken Fox

Despite some excitingly shot concert footage, one scene begins to feel very much like the next, and it's all rather predictable.

San Francisco Chronicle Ruthe Stein

So cleverly constructed that it's easy to be taken in and believe these twins really rocked.

Boston Globe Ty Burr

The film is something to see, and when it addresses the mysterious bond connecting creative people, it has an urgent, ugly splendor.

Portland Oregonian Shawn Levy

There are real thrills here, especially as the Bang Bang starts touring and becomes a minor sensation. But it's a little too hermetic and goopy and humorless and cool to invite you to wrap your arms around it. The Howes shared a single liver, but what this film version of their lives needs is more heart.

Variety Derek Elley

Feature debut by Yank duo Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe isn't so far from their engrossing docus on Terry Gilliam's filmic adventures, "The Hamster Factor" (1996) and "Lost in La Mancha" (2001), except here the madness and exploitation is part of the music scene.

Los Angeles Times Carina Chocano

Thought-provoking as it is, Brothers of the Head keeps its distance, choosing to tell a story about telling stories. But the story itself remains an unexploited gold mine.

The New York Times Stephen Holden

A fake documentary that barely lets on that its fiction, this devilishly clever film tells the story of conjoined twins who create a minor sensation in Britain on the eve of punk rock.

Village Voice Dennis Lim

The golden-hued footage is lovingly faked by ace cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle, and the straight-faced result is as improbably touching as the Farrelly brothers' underrated "Stuck on You."

Newsweek David Ansen

Bizarre, edgy and haunting tale.

The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias

Brothers isn't nearly as haunting and singular as "Last Days," because the faux-documentary format too closely mirrors the Behind The Music trajectory of a thousand other rock-band flameouts.

Philadelphia Inquirer Carrie Rickey

Unnerving.

The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Kate Taylor

What is missing from Brothers of the Head is an equally sturdy connection between form and content.

Chicago Reader Jonathan Rosenbaum

Directors Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe (Lost in La Mancha) are too preoccupied with hip cleverness to have much else on their minds, and the music is so-so.

Chicago Tribune Michael Phillips

Facetious form dictates hollow content in Brothers of the Head.

Washington Post Desson Thomson

Ultimately, Brothers is a flashy, stylistic show of emptiness, intended to protest emptiness. But that's clear almost from the outset.

Empire Patrick Peters

Despite the odd moment of visual bravura, this mockumentary is too aware of its own satirical daring. Consequently, it's never as dark, dangerous or amusing as it thinks - and the soundtrack is diabolical.

New York Post Kyle Smith

"This Is Spinal Tap" took the mockumentary up to 11. Brothers of the Head brings it back down to about four.

Entertainment Weekly Owen Gleiberman

A glumly serious British mock rock doc: You could forgive the paucity of jokes if Brothers of the Head had anything to say, or if the '70s-vérité surface were remotely convincing.

The average user rating for this movie is 8.2 (out of 10) based on 10 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Pooks S. gave it a10:
The soundtrack alone is enough to make this a fantastic film, and the riveting performances from the Treadaways make sure of that.

Chad S. gave it a6:
For the savvy rock-and-roll fan in the know, the point of "Brothers of the Head" was to create an alternate music history in which the provincial punk-rockers Bang Bang preceded both, The Sex Pistols, and quite possibly, The Ramones. But since their music is so horrible, the uninititated might mistake "Brothers of the Head" as a deadpan comic take on "This is Spinal Tap", because more likely than not, they'd also be unfamiliar with the tradition of naive art(Wesley Willis, Daniel Johnston, etc.). Although the Rob Reiner mock-doc is by far the superior film, this ambitious curio from the UK truly feels unscripted as a real documentary should. It's actors never seem aware that the cameras are rolling. Of course, the trade-off isn't exactly a crowd-pleaser; you're sacrificing entertainment for authenticity. At times, "Brothers of the Head" is difficult to watch, due in part to the indistingushable personalities of Tom(Harry Treadway) and Barry(Luke Treadway). Neither twin are particularly interesting, and worse, their mumbling dialogue(which is prosaic without a lick of wit or humor) overlaps each others' words. It takes a woman reporter, Laura Ashworth(Diana Kent), to make either musician remotely interesting, when the ice queen chooses Barry. As a result of this newly created love triangle, the thunderstruck musician changes the title of his to ode to her existence from "My Friend" to "My Friend, You C***". At first you're shocked(and so is she), but you quickly come to realize his sudden resistance to love(as does Laura), since a normal life means having to ignore the incidental menage a trois each time they make love. "Brothers of the Head" muck things up a bit towards the end by overstacking its deck as to who was the catalyst for the demise of Bang Bang.

Angela M. gave it a10:
Oh my gosh what a movie! And the music is so fantastic. I bought the movie and the CD for my car!

Maxine W. gave it a10:
I haven't seen a movie that sucked me in as much as this one did in a very long time. I immediately bought the soundtrack and can't get enough. Too bad they didn't make more music. They are awesome!

David K gave it a2:
Visually compelling at times, with dreadful music, and a train wreck storyline, only the "carrot" of their early demise kept me watching (the end was as disappointing as the the rest of the film) There is certain nothing redeeming about the characters. Ultimately it sticks for awhile until you answer the question, "Is this real or mockumentary" once you have answered that questions it can be forgotten.

David B. gave it a4:
Misses the tragic intensity of the Brian Aldiss novella by concentrating on the boys' rise to fame rather than their complex relationship. Also, the decision not to include the third brother (a sleeping, wizened head) growing out of Barry's shoulder reduces the story to an easy freakshow. Indeed the filmakers include a fake interviews with Aldiss and Kubrick who quote reasons why using the thrid head is too difficult and unnecessary, but not including it, they have missed what is most compelling about the original material.

David S. gave it a10:
The music sounds like the real mid-70s hard-rock-turning-punk thing! And if your typical mock-rock-doc tries to make you imagine what it's like to be a rockstar, this one forces you to imagine the bizarre yet tender confusion of actually being attached to someone.

Brothers of the Head IFC Films

Brothers of the Head
IFC Films