Brothers of the Head Reviews

On Siamese twins:
Thomas and Barry Howe are conjoined twins like Chang and Eng. Their mother dies of post-partum and they grow up with their father and sister in a very serene farm place. It was 1970s and medical advancements at that time weren’t that grand to separate them successfully since they share a common pleural cavity. At first thought, I supposed this film was true-to-life since it had documentary style in it. But after seeing the ridiculous flap of skin that connects Tom and Barry via their abdomens, I knew this was wholly make-believe. The grim brothers have their imaginary friends and they chant: Kill me; bury me.

On sex, rock, and roll:
This film, without the documentary shit, is extremely dark and edgy and I like it for that sole reason. The Treadaway brothers are surreal. Having a Siamese twin for a rock band, such as The Bang Bang, is one hell of a freak show! A fantastic freak show, that is. Groupies have the microphones under their panties! Their lyrics are so meaningful,: the lamentable Doola and Dawla, the captivating Two-Way Romeo, and, the very inconsiderate My Friend, You Cunt!-- you feel their grief and frustration, and even mirth, for having been born like that. Tom Howe is the soft-spoken one, he’s the guitarist and he is more attractive than Barry, who was always in-your-face and tactless.

On disturbance:
What disturbed me the most is that the twins managed to have sex with their partners even though they are, well, conjoined. It was like having orgy, a group sex therapy that would never invigorate their entwined fate. And the ickiest part of film is when one of the brain doctors discovered that Barry had this growing lump on the back of his head which the quack believed to be another fetus that has a life on its own. I mean, what the hell, another human being inside one’s brains? I’d rather have my own brains eaten by zombies!

On conjoined death:
I don’t know if I wasn’t focused on the last chapter of the video since I took a nap in between, but I really didn’t understand how the twins died. This film lacked more proofs and bluffs to prolong the viewers’ amusement. Did they kill each other? Did they drink poison like Romeo and Juliet? Did Barry die first? The questions of confusion are never-ending.

Postscript:
I’m giving this seven freakish stars since it had me singing along the catchy choruses of Tom and Barry’s compositions. Maybe I’ll even give a high five for its soundtrack. Doola and Dawla, they live in my shoes. So how come Doola don't come out and play? And how come Dawla don't talk no more? Doola dropped me in it. Dawla poked my eye. Doola made me do it. Dawla made me cry. Ooh, where the hell can I download this shit?!

With ‘Brothers Of The Head’, Lost In La Mancha film makers Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe take a side-step from documentary to mockumentary. And with this small step they inject a maturity into the genre I struggle to recall having seen before.


Brothers of the Head is the story of conjoined twins Tom and Barry Howe; a freak show who are plucked from obscurity, and groomed by rock royalty into a pre-punk phenomenon.


Joined at the stomach, Tom is able to use both his arms and is trained as the lead guitarist; Barry, forced by anatomy to live his life peering over his brother’s left shoulder, is the lead vocalist.


Don’t get me wrong, this film does have many a laugh out loud moment, the bands first meeting with groupie turned journalist ‘Laura Ashworth’ being particularly memorable (see trailer below). However, the film is encapsulated in a much darker theme – Our impulse to celebrate the weird and extraordinary, and our compulsion to own it, de-mystify it, and ultimately destroy it when the appeal begins to wear off. Kinda like the modern day music press and their ‘build a band up to knock ‘em down’ attitude. It’s not exclusive to siamese twin rockers.


The lyrics to Dinosaur Jr’s ‘Freak Scene’ also spring to mind.


“Seen enough to eye you
But Ive seen to much to try you
Its always weirdness while you
Dig it much too much to fry you
The weirdness flows between us
Anyone can tell to see us
Freak scene just cant believe us
Why cant it just be cool and free us?”


The film makers capture the music and spirit of the times perfectly. On the odd occasion when ‘Bang Bang’ were on stage it felt like I was actually there. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them touring for real if Brothers In The Head bags the cult status I believe it deserves.


The Treadaway brothers as Tom and Barry are a revelation, it’s hard to imagine a tougher ask for two actors so young to their trade, but they pull it off with ease. Some of the supporting characters lack depth, main culprits being the rest of the band, but there’s a cool cameo from Ken Russell that’s worth it’s weight in gold. B.O.T.H. does have its quota of cliche but tell me what rock topical film doesn’t?


Brothers Of The Head, I’m sure Is a cult smash in the making. I expected nothing going in and came out with an experience that would compete for a place on my all-time favourite films list. If I happened to have one.


See it! Buy it! don’t deny it!