Brothers

Ross Syner’s film is a powerful tale of grief and morality

In a very short timeframe and without resorting to dramatics, Syner’s film tells the story of three generations of a family that has suffered a devastating blow in the past and now has to endure the consequences of another tragic event.

The director’s empathy with David Bradley as the Grandfather is where the centre lies, all the pain, together with the knowledge of what must be done, and who must make the sacrifice moves across his outwardly stoic face, telling everything with hardly a need for words.

It is an extraordinary performance from Bradley – superficially still, but never quite hiding the sadness, guilt, sense of duty that make it plain that he is a man of innate morality. But he is also a man bound by a promise to protect his family and who knows what must be done to see that through.

Snyder’s exemplary lean and concise filmmaking gives us an insight into the bonds of family and humanity that many a director would have taken ten times the length to tell.

Brothers has qualified for the 2026 BAFTAS and it must surely rank as a front runner to lift the award.

Brothers: Dir Ross Syner     Ft David Bradley       Mockingbird Films

Jim Welsh