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- 2023
- Hulu
- 1 h 37 m
- 2023
- Hulu
- 1 h 37 m
Summary 14-year-old Darious (Jalyn Hall) explores the boundaries of his manhood through tumultuous interactions with Malcolm (Shamier Anderson), his strict but loving father, and Porter (Trevante Rhodes), a charismatic drifter. When Darious learns Porter’s true identity, he is thrust into a conflict between the two men that may rip his family ap...
Directed By: Miles Warren
Written By: Ben Medina, Miles Warren
- 2023
- Hulu
- 1 h 37 m
- 2023
- Hulu
- 1 h 37 m
Bruiser
81
6.0
Summary 14-year-old Darious (Jalyn Hall) explores the boundaries of his manhood through tumultuous interactions with Malcolm (Shamier Anderson), his strict but loving father, and Porter (Trevante Rhodes), a charismatic drifter. When Darious learns Porter’s true identity, he is thrust into a conflict between the two men that may rip his family ap...
Directed By: Miles Warren
Written By: Ben Medina, Miles Warren
Top Cast
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 10 Critic Reviews
81
100% Positive
10 Reviews
10 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
Metascore
Universal Acclaim
Based on 10 Critic Reviews
81
100% Positive
10 Reviews
10 Reviews
0% Mixed
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
From the squarish Academy ratio and unconventional framing to composer Robert Ouyang Rusli’s tense, bracing-for-conflict score, Warren’s choices frequently surprise, building to an ending that does exactly the right thing with the showdown we could feel coming all along.
Though Bruiser doesn’t provide any easy resolutions, it's a beautifully shot work that grapples with fatherhood, masculinity, and growing up that emerges as a fittingly flawed cinematic gem.
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 12 User Ratings
6.0
58% Positive
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
25% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
17% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
User Score
Mixed or Average
Based on 12 User Ratings
6.0
58% Positive
7 Ratings
7 Ratings
25% Mixed
3 Ratings
3 Ratings
17% Negative
2 Ratings
2 Ratings
Toxic masculinity has become a common theme in movies in recent years, and this offering examines the subject through the lens of physical violence, especially as it is expressed through generational recurrence. Writer-director Miles Warren’s debut feature explores this topic through a domestic drama involving an African-American teen (Jalyn Hall) who visits his family while on summer vacation from his private boarding school. In addition to spending time with his parents (Shamier Anderson, Shinelle Azoroh), he inadvertently meets a friendly, if unconventional stranger (Trevante Rhodes) who turns out to be the biological father who abandoned him years before. This chance encounter, in turn, stirs up unresolved issues between the two men who were once good friends and who now vie for the adolescent’s attention and loyalty, setting bad examples in the process, particularly when it comes to handling difficult situations. And caught in the middle are the young man and his mother, who try desperately to smooth over matters under increasingly dire conditions. Needless to say, the tension is palpable as matters play out, aptly showing how certain destructive behaviors are learned and transferred from one generation to the next, often in unrecognized ways by those passing along these unfortunate “lessons.” While the central theme of this gripping story is patently obvious, the narrative nevertheless keeps viewers guessing all along the way about what’s coming next, successfully holding attention well, despite some deliberately slow pacing that’s designed to keep the pot simmering. This is all helped along well by the fine portrayals of the four principals, especially Independent Spirit Award nominee Rhodes, as well as the truly charismatic Hall, who delivers yet another excellent performance, again demonstrating talent well beyond his years. “Bruiser” may not have received much fanfare, but this absorbing yet troubling online release sends a potent message about what we teach our kids and the consequences of those actions.
Report
Miles Warren talvez tenha feito escola com Shyamalan e com Jordan Peele para extrair de ambos o que há de melhor no cinema: a imersão do ambinete retratado, sem deixar de mão um roteiro coeso e certo simbolismo.
Tá certo que "Bruiser" é mais cru do que propriamente imagético, mas a atmosfera criada já impacta na cena inicial, com uma tomada aérea mostrando os corpos masculinos deitados no chão e em um misterioso círculo fechado.
Bruiser centra o roteiro no menino negro que descobre ser adotado, e o filme sabe muito bem qual mensagem quer passar, pois não faz nenhum tipo de drama sobre o fato, não se entrega ao caminho mais simples que porventura poderia enveredar. Não é sobre traumas diretamente ligados à adoção, o que tornaria tudo muito piegas e de fácil solução.
Assim, arriscando falar sobre personalidade masculina, Warren extrai de seus atores o máximo da capacidade de embate psicológico. Enquanto o pai biológico parece ser um homem descolado e mais interessante ao filho adolescente, o pai de criação aparece como a figura racional, ligada a um estoicismo que ficara apenas nas ideias, pois aos poucos o roteiro vai desfazendo a camada de ambos.
É interessante que o triângulo aqui se dê entre 3 homens negros, tendo em vista o que ocorrera com Will Smith e a suposta quebra dos limites a que o racismo estrutural bem está acostumado. E a mão certeira do diretor faz tudo parecer muito natural.
O garoto, um adolescente em formação, se vê obrigado a ter uma figura paterna como espelho para se proteger dos perigos impostos pela sociabilidade comum a qualquer adolescente negro. O pai biológico, com uma vida errante, lhe oferece um tipo de liberdade que, a toda hora, a trilha sonora faz questão de nos manter em alerta. Ao mesmo tempo em que procura se autodefender e aprender técnicas de briga, o filme não poupa esforços para insinuar afetos. A cena em que os dois estão na montanha russa é de uma sutileza e beleza que já vale a conferida por si só.
E à medida que o roteiro vai progredindo, segredos violentos do passado de ambos os pais vão vindo à tona, mas isso não importa mais do que o olhar do garoto, perdido em suas referências, num mundo onde temos todas as referências à palma da mão. Não à toa, quando o pai biológico joga fora o smartphone do filho, ele percebe que, enfim, ele também apresenta perigo, ou não é tão confiável.
Aliás, ninguém é confiável. Nem há referências sólidas. Vivemos num mundo em construção, ao mesmo tempo em que nunca se discutiu tanto as identidades, também nunca se viu tanta identidade fluida assim, como diria Stuart Hall. Filme muito competente, filmado sem pressa, com uma trilha digna, que oferece o que há de melhor (e de pior) para se pensar a masculinidade pós-moderna.
Report
Bruiser is an anxious film filled with unmistakable beauty and obsessed with conceptions of family, love, growth, the past, and the future.
The writing, direction, and acting are spectacular. The score by Robert Ouyang Rusli is stirring and never ceases to amaze. Among 2023's film entries, Bruiser stands among the year's best so far.
If this gently philosophical film has a lesson for Darious — and for us — it’s that life is long and things change. The choices made yesterday don’t always have to define who we are today.
It's a deeply empathetic film that displays an ability to balance the lyrical and the genuine while telling the story of a young man trying to figure himself out through two very different male role models in his life.
arren uses an assured hand in treating the family melodrama with the tenderness of a tone poem. For most of the film, he avoids painting in broad strokes while ratcheting up the conflict between Porter, a tattooed veteran living on a boat, and the bespectacled, seemingly upright Malcolm.
Jalyn Hall plays a teen with a basically stable home life and 2 strict but devoted parents. After an incident with friends, he meets a charismatic stranger (Trevante Rhodes) who changes their lives. This drama is steeped in intense emotions and constant conflict. Fortunately, the performances and direction are solid, which gives the story more emotional heft. Unfortunately, the forceful music by Robert Ouyang Rusli often telegraphs the heavy moments. This is a small and effective personal drama that's also a earnestly observed examination of toxic masculinity and its effects on a family.
Report
Solid performances all around. The climax is earned but the guts here are pretty bare boned.
Report
Production Company
Lyrical Media,
Onyx Collective,
Ryder Picture Company,
Silent R Management,
Toula67 Entertainment
Release Date Feb 24, 2023
Duration 1 h 37 m
Genres
Tagline What Makes a Man?
Awards
African-American Film Critics Association (AAFCA)
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Film Independent Spirit Awards
• 1 Nomination
Black Reel Awards for Television
• 1 Nomination
