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If there's a particular type of movie in which college fraternities are featured the most, it's in these gross-out teen comedies that depict college life as being all about partying and having sex. There's a big part of me that always cringes upon seeing that, because it leads me to think that there seriously are non-college-educated people out there who believe that that's all that happens in your average campus. So, it's always a welcome sight when a movie deals more seriously with college life, or in this case, with the darker elements of what it means to be a member of a fraternity. That's the case with BROTHERHOOD, a gritty and suspenseful independent drama/thriller that shows just how wrong things can go during a fraternity initiation.
Of course, the dismissive reaction to this sort of situation (whether in real life or in a movie) is "Well, why were those guys so dumb in the first place to do what those other guys asked them to do?" And this is where it's key to understand that college isn't the utopia of alcohol and sex that most movies choose to depict: in reality, it's usually a time in which people are away from their family and friends, and therefore feel the need to find some form of core group to which they belong. Fraternities not only fulfill that need, but also, the fact that its members refer to each other as "brothers" makes it feel even more like you're truly getting a second family to belong to while you're away from home.
So, it's not too hard to understand why Adam (Trevor Morgan) and Kevin (Lou Taylor Pucci) feel pressure to do exactly what is asked of them by Frank (Jon Foster), who is one of the leaders of Sigma Zeta Chi, the fraternity that the two guys wish to join. The problem is that Frank is telling them that, for their initiation, they each need to individually rob a convenience store. Adam and Kevin are understandably reluctant, but again, that pressure and desire to belong is so powerful, that they relent. Adam is up first, and as he is sprinting towards the convenience store, he is stopped by another fraternity member, who hands him a bag and says "Here, take this, and act like you robbed the store." Of course, one breathes a sigh of relief when this happens (not to mention the fact that it makes the film more realistic), since it means that "it's all pretend" and nothing bad will really happen. Adam isn't allowed to tell his friend Kevin that it's all fake, though, and unfortunately, when it's Kevin's turn to carry out the deed, things don't go as planned. Kevin gets wounded in the midst of the mess, and to make matters worse, it turns out that the convenience store clerk, Mike (Arlen Escarpeta), is someone that Adam knows from high school. This all marks the beginning of a series of tragic and disastrous events that bury the guys deeper and deeper into the hole of trouble.
Moral complexities on film always intrigue me, particularly when they're handled as well as they are here. As things keep going wrong for our characters, the dialogue features the classic conflict between "We HAVE to go to a hospital and call the police" and "No, no, we can still get out of this clean and without having to go to jail." One gets a clear gander here at the differences between the moral compass of one character and the other, and watching the interplay between the two approaches is fascinating. What makes BROTHERHOOD even better is that, while it does have some characters who feel more inclined to "do the right thing" and others who would prefer to just hide all the mess under the bed, we don't have the cliche of the 100% good guy and the 100% bad guy. Adam is supposed to be the more hero-ish of the group, but he does a share of things that teeter on the vile (particularly in dealing with his ex-high school friend Mike). The film deserves credit for admitting what too many films refuse to admit: that there are no absolute heroes or absolute villains out there. All we have are people who respond to situations based on what will best serve them and based on their moral values... but when situations reach the point of desperation, they'll often go with the former, as is the case in BROTHERHOOD.
Considering that the moral conflicts at play are so good here, it's a shame that the acting is generally on the weak side, with the notable exception of Trevor Morgan, who would be right at home in an A-level indie drama (when he was much younger, he starred in the terrific MEAN CREEK, another searingly dark indie film). The other problem with the film is that, during the final 30 minutes or so, there's an inevitable feeling that the filmmakers are trying to come up with as many things as possible to complicate the characters' situation more and more. As much as it helps to further enrich the moral complexity, it eventually starts feeling like an attempt to ensure the movie reaches an acceptable running time (the film lasts less than 80 minutes). One commendable aspect, though, is the revelation that takes place during the film's final moments: it's not so much a revelation, as it is something that both we (the audience) and the characters had forgotten about. It's one of those moments in which "Oh shit!" will be an inevitable reaction from many a people watching it. And the good thing about it is that it's not used so much for shock value as it is used to give the film the sense of tragic finality it deserved. Any other type of outcome would've been a cop-out.
I'll issue a warning here: the poster for BROTHERHOOD is deceptive. It makes it look like one of those gangster action movies, and that's far from the case, but for my personal taste, I'm glad about that. If anything, BROTHERHOOD is somewhat reminiscent of 2007's (better and more refined) ALPHA DOG, which wasn't so much a movie about young and thuggish gamins as it was a film about letting an issue go way out of proportion and lead to a growing avalanche of problems that would culminate in tragedy. BROTHERHOOD may not be as unsettling or as well-acted, but thanks to a morally interesting plot and to its decision to portray college life in a more serious and authentic light, it easily deserves a passing grade.
6/10
