Brothers of the Head
Release Date:
July 28, 2006
Limited release
On the Big Board |
| Position |
Staff |
In Brief |
| 50/76 |
Dan Krovich |
Such a bizarre idea, it should have been more entertaining. |
Brothers of the Head is a mock documentary, though not in the Christopher Guest-sense, as this is not a comedy (though it does have some funny bits). Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe, the documentary directors behind Lost in LaMancha, take their first stab at feature films, positing the adaption of Brian Aldiss' novel as a "documentary". A camera crew follows the story of conjoined twins Tom and Barry Howe (played by non-conjoined twins Harry and Luck Treadaway), as they are plucked from obscurity to become the next big rock band in 1975 England. Instead of being just some freak-show boy band, the Howes turn their personal anger into punk rock anathems and let loose on stage. Behind the scenes, their handlers and hangers on manipulate and use them to a point where the break. The film includes "archival" footage of the twins at the time of their success, with "current" interviews of family, fans and those who worked with them discussing their rise and fall.
The film has been making the round of film festivals, and finally picked up a distributor in IFC Films. Brothers of the Head has some interesting artistic credits behind it. Its screenplay is by Tony Grisoni, who wrote Terry Gilliam's adaptation of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and the aborted LaMancha film that was the subject of Fulton and Pepe's documentary. The music performed by the Howe twins is all original, most written by the Treadaways, but one song was co-written by Pete Shelley of The Buzzcock's fame. Also, the current poster looks quite similar to the one designed for the movie Trainspotting. At present time, there is no information of release strategy, but expect a modest release with platforming if critical reviews and word of mouth is positive. (Stephanie DeGateo/BOP)
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