Bruiser

As a long-time reviewer here, I am always fascinated by films where the user ratings don't quite match the critics' score. BRUISER is one such movie. Viewers see a fairly slow-moving drama involving a young black man who is given two entirely different strategies for responding to bullying, by two entirely different adult influencers in his life. And they respond to that, and that alone. The pro reviewers, on the other hand, are less interested in this specific film experience as such, but much more interested in the fact that this is the debut project for director Miles Warren (from his own story). The irony is that this "duality" mirrors the paradox in the film itself. One movie. Two ways to look at it. One young man in trouble. Two ways to respond. In fairness to the professional critics, Warren's first feature is deliberately intended to be slow-moving and filled with nuance. That is "a feature, not a bug." And the pros are not wrong. This is the kind of promising early work that leads to better things down the road. ((Designated "IMDb Top Reviewer." Please check out my list "167+ Nearly-Perfect Movies (with the occasional Anime or TV miniseries) you can/should see again and again (1932 to the present))

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.

I get having ambition as a newb filmmaker - Miles Warren, who directed and co-wrote this film with Ben Medina, but people don't spend their hard earned money to buy current wide-screen TV's to have to sit through a 1970's tube-television 4:3 aspect ratio square-box viewing experience. That was an unforgiving and unnecessary annoyance, that also made his rookie filmmaking mistakes more evident, and there were many of them.

For starters, the pacing was ridiculously slow and had too many long and dragged out scenes. It's almost as if he took his short film (of the same name and content) and stretched it out to fill in a 97 min runtime. We struggled to stay awake and became impatient for the first two acts until the final act, when things finally start to happen. Warren's inexperience in directing his cast was also evident with the constant monotonic dialogue and film's tone with his actors. It lacked any real urgency to keep wanting to watch.

The only reason we kept watching was the creativity on how the story was being told, and the dynamics of the two adults who wanted to be a part of Darious' life, played exceptionally well by Jalyn Hall, who in my opinion, stole the show, and was the main reason to keep watching.

Had Warren consulted an experienced filmmaker for much needed adjustments to his film, this could've been an Oscar-worthy gem. Nevertheless, as a newb filmmaker, I applaud his ambition and his first full length feature film. I particularly appreciated the non-Hollywood approach to his story, and how real-world it felt. I would've liked a better ending though, with at least some closure. That could've easily fit into the 97 min box. It's a good film, that could've easily been great. Hopefully Warren learns from this, because he certainly has filmmaking-greatness potential.