My Brother Jack

Expertly crafted elements of psychological drama ignite an elite acting chemistry realized between its two male leads in the terrific "My Brother Jack," a deeply engrossing tale of childhood trauma and the divergent but permeating impacts it can exact on subsequently lived adult lives.

Deftly leveraging the full arsenal of tonally isolating storytelling implements, director Stephen Dest wastes no time laying the groundwork: Younger brother Vincent (Jon Thorndike) is a mental patient in the same bustling yet somehow lonely-feeling hometown in which brother Jack (Malcolm Madera) is now a renowned artist. Through flashback to their shared childhood, we learn that the Christmastime murder of their parents has served as the cataclysmic driver placing the brothers on these disparate adult paths. During sleep, Vincent remains terribly affected by recurring, faceless glimpses of the murders he witnessed, while Jack's committed support of his brother stems in no small part from his lifelong guilt over consciously staying in his room as the killings took on their horrible shape. When convicted murderer Arthur Wood (Thomas Francis Murphy) is set free, he's quick to realize his own violent death, which places the two adult brothers under intense police scrutiny.

There's a supernatural element which slowly percolates up and through the framework of "My Brother Jack," hinted at just enough to imbue the film with its sublime promise of an otherworldly resolution. Vincent's visions subtly pivot from afflicted flashback to forward-looking images of his own possible demise, seamlessly blurring the line between memory and prophecy. In the sum of its parts, "My Brother Jack" delivers psychological suspense in a way aspired to in so many films, yet rarely achieved to the extent displayed here. Highly recommended. - (Was this review of use to you? If so, let me know by clicking "Helpful." Cheers!)