My Brother Is An Only Child

Stop me if you’ve heard this political microcosm before. In one of south Rome’s less salubrious districts, two brothers from a working class family act out the political struggles of the ’60s and ’70s. Oh, and there’s a girl.
Popular older boy Manrico (Italian heartthrob Riccardo Scamarcio) is a communist activist at a local factory. Resentful younger brother Accio (Ello Germano, motivated by sheer spite) goes from Catholic seminary to blackshirt rebellion. Their formidable materfamilias does her best to break up the ensuing horseplay but soon enough the conflict within the clan has spilled out onto the streets.
Scripted by Sandro Petraglia and Stefano Rulli, who penned the similarly themed The Best of Youth, My Brother Is An Only Child forms a solid if far from innovative tale. Handheld cinematography and handpicked euro-rock from the likes of Nada give the production an energetic bounce. Unfortunately, that’s not quite enough to save the film from its fascist protagonist. Romantic visits to Mussolini’s grave are one thing. Director Daniele Luchetti even derives amusement from a right wing that are invariably revealed to be nincompoops. But while Mr. Ermano’s performance as an irritating, ill-tempered twit is impressive, it’s awfully hard to like. It won’t spoil the ending to tell you that he doesn’t go on to make the trains run on time.