''A Brother's Kiss'' is a 1997 American independent drama film written and directed by Seth Zvi Rosenfeld and starring Nick Chinlund and Michael Raynor. It is based on the 1988 play by Rosenfeld and also his directorial debut. Rosenfeld grew up in the same neighborhood as actor Michael Raynor; Raynor and actor Nick Chinlund were friends as children.

Plot

Mick ( Michael Raynor) and Lex ( Nick Chinlund) are a pair of brothers who grew up in Harlem under circumstances that were difficult at best. Their mother Doreen (

Cathy Moriarty Cathy Moriarty (born November 29, 1960) is an American actress whose career spans five decades. Born and raised in New York City, she made her acting debut opposite Robert De Niro in Martin Scorsese's ''Raging Bull'' (1980), for which she recei ...

) was a diabetic with a drinking problem and difficulty in saying no to men. While she wasn't a sex worker, she grew dependent on the little gifts her lovers would bring by, and as kids, Mick and Lex learned to accept this as the way things were. One night, Mick and Lex were taking a walk in the park when they were accosted by a cop who molested the younger Mick. Lex, older and strong as a grown man, attacked the cop, which led to a stay in a reform school. Years later, Mick is himself a policeman; while he's tried to bury the childhood incident in his past, he still shows emotional scars and is sexually dysfunctional. Lex has taken the more dramatic slide, getting in and out of trouble since reform school and maintaining a going-nowhere job driving a bus. He has a combative relationship with Debbie ( Rosie Perez), girlfriend and the mother of his child, while also selling drugs for local dealer Lefty Louie (

John Leguizamo John Alberto Leguizamo Peláez (, ; ; born July 22, 1960 or 1964) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, and film producer. He has appeared in more than 100 films, produced more than 20 films and documentaries, made more than 30 televisio ...

). His own habit has developed so far that his sales don't compensate for the amount he uses himself. Mick tries to look out for his big brother, but it might be too late to save him.

Cast

* Nick Chinlund as Lex * Michael Raynor as Mick * Justin Pierce as Young Lex *Joshua Danowsky as Young Mick *

as Lefty *

as Doreen * Rosie Perez as Debbie * Michael Rapaport as Stingy *

Marisa Tomei Marisa Tomei ( , ; born December 4, 1964) is an American actress. She gained prominence for her comedic performance in '' My Cousin Vinny'' (1992), which earned her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She received further nominations ...

as Missy *Talent Harris as Vic

Reception

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

gave the film three stars. John Petrakis of the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' also gave it three stars.

Owen Gleiberman Owen Gleiberman (born February 24, 1959) is an American film critic who has been chief film critic for '' Variety'' magazine since May 2016, a title he shares with . Previously, Gleiberman wrote for ''Entertainment Weekly'' from 1990 until 2014. ...

of ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' graded it a B−.

References

External links

* * 1997 films American drama films American independent films American films based on plays 1997 directorial debut films 1990s English-language films 1990s American films {{1990s-US-drama-film-stub