'Bruiser' Review: Jalyn Hall shines in compelling drama about adolescence and masculinity
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: 'Bruiser' is a feature debut from Miles Warren, who collaborated with Ben Medina to adapt it from a short film of the same name. The official synopsis of the Hulu movie reads, "A 14-year-old boy turns to a charismatic loner for help after being beaten up, in director Miles Warren's searing feature debut about fathers, families, and the effects of fighting."
Due to the oppressive restrictions of hypermasculinity, two men with a shared history are barred from asking for the respect, approval, and affection they so desperately want. Instead, they battle for dominance, a quest laced with undertones of violence that impedes each of their distinct journeys.The movie stars Jalyn Hall, Trevante Rhodes, Shamier Anderson and Shinelle Azoroh.
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A teen torn between aggressive role models
Insightful and all-encompassing in so many ways, Warren's first film is a self-assured, coming-of-age tale from a significant new voice, centered on an African American teen torn between two very different role models, one of whom demands that he stay focused and "take his lumps," and the other who is prepared to teach the boy how to defend himself in a fight.
Darious (Jalyn Hall), a fourteen-year-old, has numerous causes for being irate. Malcolm (Shamier Anderson) and Monica (Shinelle Azoroh), his parents, enroll him at a private school where the majority of the students are pretty well-off. As the break comes, Darious must return to the humble reality of his own existence, where he can't afford a new bike and gets shoved about by white children. His classmates are looking forward to their summer vacations in Greece. Darious seeks understanding, but his auto dealer father is harsh and frequently disinterested.
Darious adopts Porter (Trevante Rhodes), a hyper-masculine adult he encounters by mistake, as a kind of surrogate father figure, not realizing (spoiler alert) the man is actually his biological father. He finds in him qualities he desires for himself: self-confidence and strength undoubtedly, as well as independence potentially. He disregards his parents' reservations and spends time with Porter covertly because he dislikes Malcolm's discipline and is looking for direction anywhere he can find it.
Jalyn Hall steals the show
When the situation calls for it, Anderson and Rhodes perform their parts effectively, tearing into one another like two grizzlies, but Hall, the young actor with the fresh face who recently played Emmett Till, comes across as more of a discovery. Hall's role in 'Till' is brutally murdered early on, whereas his performance in 'Bruiser' is significant. Darious doesn't talk much and keeps most of his discomforts within, yet the actor manages to convey the boy's nuanced emotions throughout the entire film.
The way 'Bruiser' recreates the adolescent experience is one of the things that makes it so powerful. Hall reminds the audience what it's like to be impatient and insecure, anxious about a long-distance relationship that he can sense unraveling, and itching to leave the lifeless place he was born into.
'Bruiser' is now streaming on Hulu.
