Aahana Swrup
Max Barbakow’s ‘Brothers’ is an action comedy film that centers around a family of criminals who embark on a road trip to carry out a last heist. Moke Munger has quit the life of crime and lives an upstanding life with his wife. Nevertheless, he can’t say no once his older twin brother—and longtime partner in crime—Jady shows up on his doorstep for one final misadventure. Consequently, the brothers are pushed into the ride of a lifetime as they reunite with their equally chaotic mother, Cath, and several other familiar faces on the road toward glory.
Yet, despite the dangers of the mission, their biggest challenge proves to be collaboration without mutual destruction. ‘Brothers’ charts a highly engaging tale with bizarre narrative elements—ranging from a crooked cop to a peculiar orangutan—that is bound to raise some brows. Even so, its depiction of frenzied crime-fuelled hijinks of a dysfunctional family somehow ends up emulating a universally relatable sense of familial love and obligation. However, is there any truth to the Munger family’s criminally chaotic reunion?
Brothers: Origins in an Intriguing Pitch
The chaotic and criminal narrative of ‘Brothers’ remains confined to the film’s on-screen fictionality and finds no inspiration in real-life people or events. Instead, it’s purely a work of fiction penned by screenwriter Macon Blair based on Etan Cohen’s story. Therefore, the Munger family and the various odd characters that populate the tale are rendered as fictitious as their storylines. Yet, the film still sports an intriguing origin story despite its departure from real-life inspirations and influences. ‘Brothers’ found its inciting inception between its two lead actors, Josh Brolin and Peter Dinklage.
Initially, Brolin and Dinklage came up with the idea to star in a project together due to the similarities people often pointed out between the two actors. In a conversation with Movie Fone about the film’s origin, Brolin shared, “I mean, it all came out of people saying, god, you and (Peter) Dinklage look alike. You guys should do a movie together. Look at how big your heads are.” Reportedly, it was Brolin who called Dinklage up with the idea before the duo began pitching the project. Eventually, as Macon Blair became attached to the conversation, the story began to slowly but surely come together.
Consequently, even though most of the film came from the script on paper, the nature of the comedy-focused project also allowed plenty of room for collaboration and improvisation. As a result, many of the more bewildering scenes, such as Moke’s fall down a motel room balcony or Jady’s reconnection with his pen pal from prison, find moments of improvisation from the actors themselves. Thus, the film achieves an authentic approach to comedy that enhances the fictional premise’s sense of realism.
Brothers Explores Relatable Family Dynamics
Despite the outlandish nature of the Munger family’s relationship to criminality, their central inter-character dynamic proves to be one of the most grounding aspects of the film’s narrative. As the title suggests, the story significantly delves into the brotherly relationship between Moke and Jady, bringing a realistic depiction of such a relationship to the screen. The same allows actors Brolin and Dinklage to engage with characters that are outside of the conventions they tend to embody otherwise. As such, both characters leave a notable impression on the viewers, infusing the narrative with authenticity through their dynamic.
Director Max Barbakow, in particular, got to explore a more personal narrative through Brolin’s character, Moke, who shares the filmmaker’s experiences as a younger brother. Since Barbakow—who previously directed the 2020 time-look comedy film ‘Palm Springs’ likes to tell stories that personally resonate with him, his connection to Moke allowed the filmmaker to delve deeper into the project. “This really was all about distilling the story of this dysfunctional family, which I think everybody could relate to, through the lens of a caper heist,” said Barbakow in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.
As such, even without a direct real-life inspiration, the film manages to relate to the audience as the dysfunctional Munger family occupies the story’s central emotional drive. Nonetheless, outside of the film’s relatable and realistic themes, the story and the characters hold little to no connection with reality. Therefore, the film ultimately remains a work of fiction.
Read More: Where Was Brothers (2024) Filmed?
