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STARS...
Joe Morton, Darryl Edwards, Steve James, Leonard
Jackson, Bill Cobbs, and Fisher Stevens.
PLOT SUMMARY...
A dark skinned alien from outerspace crash lands in New York City.
QUICK SCAN...
This film could be compared to "Starman". Joe Morton ("Terminator
2") is amazing, in a mostly non-verbal role, as the alien. Director
Sayles has an amusing cameo as an alien cop looking for Morton. The
New York City photography is imaginative. A scene of Morton communicating
with a pretty nightclub singer is a film highlight.
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Review:
BROTHER FROM ANOTHER PLANET, Written, Directed, and Edited by John Sayles,
is a unique, involving, Sci-Fi fable that also is an allegory about
today's society and race relations.
Joe Morton, as the stranded alien, gives a wonderfully expressive performance,
under Sayles adroit direction. The fact that Morton conveys numerous
reactions and feelings, with no dialogue, is quite an accomplishment.
Morton has gone on to co-star in the TV series "Equal Justice",
and plays a strong supporting role in "Terminator 2", but
no role has so effectively showcased his talent as this early performance.
The offbeat Musical Score has a jazzy, Jamaican flavor, with a lot of
emphasis on steel drums. It seems an entirely appropriate aural background
to this unique movie.
Sayles has come up with some fun, hip dialogue. When alien Sayles passes
himself off as an immigration official seeking illegal alien Morton,
a Harlem bartender asks to see a badge. Sayles replies, "Badges?
What badges? We don't have to show you any badges!", a cute tip
of the hat to the classic Bogart flick "The Treasure of the Sierra
Madre."
Sayles delivers consistently interesting screen imagery, including a
beautiful shot of the Statue of Liberty, lit up at night, and a striking
shot, at dawn, of New York's skyline.
Throughout the film, various characters open up to the mute Morton,
who apparently qualifies as a great listener, telling him about their
lives. It shows the hunger people have to communicate, and strikes a
note of truth.
My favorite scene is where Morton meets the woman of his dreams, an
attractive nightclub singer. Able to communicate only by nodding his
head "Yes" and "No", he nonetheless charms her,
as he does the viewer.
THE BROTHER FROM ANOTHER PLANET should be highly watchable for most
Sci-Fi fans. Sayles fans will be grinning from ear to ear. THE BROTHER
FROM ANOTHER PLANET offers stellar entertainment.
MovieMonday.com
* Super Star Index * Award
Winners * CelebrityFrame.com
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