The prospect of yet another Hackney-hoodie crime drama hardly quickens the blood, yet writer-director Sally El Hosaini's contribution to the genre is more thoughtful and original than most.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 16, 2020

Merely good.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 19, 2019

My Brother the Devil is a richly observed film depicting the overly tried and true travails of life on the streets. Best of all, it manages to set itself apart from similarly themed efforts.

| Aug 9, 2019

It's a pleasant surprise because Egyptian-Welsh writer-director Sally El Hosaini, in her feature film debut, avoids telling an easy but often overwrought sort of story about immigrants struggling to leave their history behind them.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Dec 19, 2018

An incredibly mature first film.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 27, 2018

The moments of high drama are compelling and emotive, and the moments of raw brutality will cause audible gasps.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 23, 2018

"My Brother the Devil" offers something simultaneously, paradoxically rehashed and fresh.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 21, 2018

An often gripping coming-of-age story involving rival gangs, societal pressures, self-discovery, brotherly affection, and drugs.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 12, 2013

The attention El Hosaini gives to the physical structures in this neighbourhood is a poignant reminder of the lack of focus there generally is on the people who live inside them.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 28, 2013

It's an impressive debut by a director blessed with a strong voice and a knack for bringing a specific cultural milieu to vibrant life, defying convention even while working within its strict limits.

| Jun 28, 2013

My Brother the Devil brings a fresh and mature perspective to a story of shifting relationships between siblings, clearly marking the Egyptian-Welsh writer-director as someone on a path to greater things.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 27, 2013

The film takes an insightful look at subtle cultural and socioeconomic differences, as well as similarities, during troubled economic times.

| Jun 12, 2013

A story of brothers that's both tough and tender.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | May 10, 2013

Ultimately feels a little flat, but there's promise that the director will carry on to stronger work, with several scenes here delivering exceptional grace and texture that all but guarantees a bright cinematic future.

| Original Score: B- | Apr 26, 2013

Sally El Hosaini shows a deft hand in her story telling and direction belying her inexperience behind the camera.

| Original Score: B | Apr 25, 2013

When a both a dog and friend of Rashid's are killed in a violent gang encounter, El Hosaini frames both of their lifeless bodies on the street in a powerful image that tells of two innocents both bred to fight.

| Original Score: B | Apr 25, 2013

[El Hosaini] has a devil of a time getting a handle on this complicated story.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/4 | Apr 25, 2013

Familiar youth crime/coming-of-age framework, novel setting and focus group.

Full Review | Apr 16, 2013

El Housani's freshman effort is certainly visually accomplished, but there's precious little meat on its bones.

| Apr 12, 2013

"My Brother the Devil" is a promising debut that marks El Hosaini as a filmmaker to watch, but one still very much in the developmental stages.

| Original Score: 2.5/5 | Apr 5, 2013