Two brothers trek across the American West in an attempt to reconcile past traumas and forge a new bond in Sheridan O’Donnell’s deeply moving debut. Jake (Daniel Diemer, Netflix’s The Half Of It) and his brother Pete (Philip Ettinger, A24’s First Reformed) pile into a beat-up van, heading to Albuquerque bound for Seattle. Pete has just attempted suicide for the umpteenth time and his concerned parents (JK Simmons, Spiderman: No Way Home, Whiplash) have enlisted Jake to drive Pete home for a family intervention.
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Two brothers trek across the American West in an attempt to reconcile past traumas and forge a new bond in Sheridan O’Donnell’s deeply moving debut. Jake (Daniel Diemer, Netflix’s The Half Of It) and his brother Pete (Philip Ettinger, A24’s First Reformed) pile into a beat-up van, headed to Albuquerque bound for Seattle. Pete has just attempted suicide for the umpteenth time and his concerned parents (JK Simmons, Spiderman: No Way Home, Whiplash) have recruited Jake to drive him home for a family intervention.
Director: Sheridan O'DonnellWriter: Sheridan O'DonnellStars: Beth Bailey, Kevin Bransford, Daniel Diemer
Sometimes it takes a stranger to convey the perspective you weren’t seeing, but definitely needed. It’s oddly strange and wonderfully weird how someone can come into your life, even briefly, and read you completely from top to bottom. When they tell you exactly what you need to hear without knowing you or what you’re going through, for one small moment, everything feels connected and possible as a faint light begins to peek through the darkness you’re currently in because this stranger has seemingly managed to climb out of that same dark cavern. The journey may not be easy or one that is ultimately successful, however, you can take solace in the fact that you have been on it many times before and completed it. Don’t give up or quit. Whatever you are going through, trying to get out of it is always worth it.
Regardless of how you feel, you belong here. Written and directed by Sheridan O’Donnell, Little Brother is incredibly compelling and carefully handled. It captures the plight and utter frustration of those suffering from mental illness, without trying, and also encapsulates the overall feeling of a generation. Standing squarely between the sufferer, the sympathiser and the cynic, O’Donnell creates a genuine narrative that cuts through this dire situation from all angles. This unconventional and cathartic road trip story introduces us to an older brother, Pete, who has once again tried to take a permanent leave from life, a younger brother, Jake, who is angry and confused but wants to understand why Pete wants to leave him behind, and their father, who thinks it’s all a selfish ploy to get attention.
Not only are we immersed in family drama, but also a generational disconnect. Pete represents millennials as we are in that strange place between burying our problems deep down like we were taught to do and the contemporary acceptance of seeking advice. Furthermore, the more we realize that it’s all been a lie and the American dream never really existed, the less we want to be here.
The once-bright flame has slowly been dimming. Jake embodies the Gen Z spirit of speaking up when something is wrong, being open-minded and accepting of differences, along with a willingness to change your mind when you learn new information. On the other hand, his father, played by J.K. Simmons, is a die-hard boomer who would rather believe that the problem is selfish selfishness rather than the severity of his son's mental state.
Unaware that the world he grew up in no longer exists. Yet possessed of compassion and gentleness, this is an immensely human film that says: I may not fully understand the weight of your mental and emotional anguish, but I want to understand and I'm here for you.
Every now and then there are some films that have a deep understanding of current times. It's not always about the big events that make headlines, but what lies beneath all that and defines a moment in time. Little Brother is one such film. Joining the ranks of similar films like On the Count of Three, these films are a statement that as the world becomes increasingly complex and problematic, emotions can no longer be "repressed" or ignored and we are clearly failing as a society on multiple facets. Furthermore, it makes it abundantly clear that the stigma around therapy should be gone and it should be more widely available than ever.
Even though the film is rooted in a desert of despair, there are clouds of hope everywhere.
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