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))