The Brute
Reviews
John Chard
The Brute Syndrome. The Brute is written and directed by Gerry O’Hara. It stars Julian Glover, Sarah Douglas, Roberta Gibbs, Bruce Robinson, Suzanne Stone, Kenneth Nelson, Jenny Twigge and Nicholas Barnes. Music is by Kenneth V. Jones and cinematography by Dennis C. Lewiston. Model Diane Shepherd (Douglas) is emotionally stuck in a violent marriage to her husband Tim (Glover), who in his constant paranoia accuses her of infidelity. Finally having enough, she finds shelter with photographer Mark (Robinson) and his girlfriend Carrie (Stone). Meeting up with another abused wife, Millie (Twigge), Diane begins to find hope for the future, but then Tim informs her that if she doesn't come back to him, he will see to it that he gains custody of their young son and make it impossible for her to see him freely. Tricky subject matter inevitably invokes tricky human reactions, something writer and director Gerry O’Hara knows only too well. Given the “X” certificate upon its release in the UK, the film was promptly vilified by most critics and caused uproar in press and women’s group circles. It seems that back in 1977 the issue of domestic abuse should not be put up as a filmic subject. Things didn’t help that the marketing department played it up as a horror movie, something O’Hara wasn’t aiming for, whilst some mischievous critics angled it as sensationalist soft-core pornography! Viewed now, and it’s become something of a rare movie, there’s flaws aplenty for sure, but one of them isn’t being sensationalist for sensationalist’s sake. Tonally the picture is all over the place, one minute it’s grabbing you by the throat and shaking you, the next it’s almost like we have been transported into some swanky kitchen sink drama. In fact quite early on it gets a little bit sketchy as to where its heart is, but once Diane makes the decision to leave Teddy (how inappropriately cuddly a name can be eh?!), and we get brought into Millie’s awful world (Twigge excellent) then pic finds its rhythm and makes telling and dramatic points. The violence here is tame by today’s standards, unsurprisingly of course, but it’s still terrifying, especially with the Millie scenes, but I reiterate, this is not a horror movie per se. Don’t seek this out if you are looking for something like The Stepfather, this is a social concern movie about horror inflicted domestically, there is a big difference. Lead cast members are more than up to the task of bringing the story home safely, though some of the support work is decidedly amateurish, and those irked by PC issues in movies are likely to draw back their bow and arrows ready to fire off a poisonous dart. A journalist friend of mine went to a special educational double bill screening of The Brute and The Burning Bed (Farrah Fawcett TV movie) in the early 90s. She said that at the end of The Brute the audience applauded and it was a hot-bed of debate in the bar afterwards. I didn’t feel like clapping myself when I watched it yesterday, I felt exhausted yet strangely uplifted. You see here’s the thing, it’s all in the finale, in its hopeful denouement, and with the realisation this is not about The Brute of the title, this is about the women. Very much so. No masterpiece is this, but a very smart and misunderstood piece of cinema. 7/10
Movie Recommendation
From Roger Moore with Love2024-12-15Friends, family and co-stars take part in this revealing and entertaining look at British icon Roger Moore and his rise to global fame. With rare home-movie footage.More...
Operation Amsterdam1959-01-12When Germany invades Holland in 1940, a British intelligence officer and two Dutch diamond merchants go to Amsterdam to persuade the Dutch diamond merchants to evacuate their diamond supplies to England.More...
Don't Look Back1996-07-13Los Angeles heroin addict Jesse endangers the lives of his childhood friends after he discovers a briefcase full of money from a drug deal gone bad, and returns home with it to Texas. Hoping to turn his life around with his newfound wealth, Jessie endures detox with the support of his friends. However, the gang leader behind the drug deal, along with his cronies, trace Jesse's footsteps to Texas to exact revenge and take back their money.More...
Symptoms2020-06-19A 17-year-old girl faces a life with an adverse perspective, where her social life, her experiences, her happiness and emotional stability only depend on a thread that is too damaged.More...
Six Reasons Why2008-07-15In a desolate place called the Badlands, four men stand off with guns drawn, their fingers ready at the trigger. Among them are a fugitive seeking redemption, a son out to avenge his father's murder, a loyal servant with a secret and a murderous criminal hired to kill with a vengeance. This is their story...in a place where revenge, deception and cruelty are a way of life.More...
Les Habits neufs du gouverneur2005-04-05There is no descriptionMore...
Panda2014-06-12Two teenagers are playing by night in a dirty parking lot. After they are driving on an empty road, they start to tease each other on the way to the sea, but they seem to be too young to drive and the road is a bit strange.More...
Towa no Quon 4: The Roaring Anxiety2011-09-09The story follows a boy named Quon and others who suddenly wake up with supernatural powers.More...
Kazuo Umezu's Horror Theater: Death Make2005-07-05Five people visit an abandoned building where five girls disappeared ten years ago when they tried to summon ghosts. These five people who visit the building has met on a website for people with supernatural powers. With their abilities realize these people that they should leave the building as quickly as possible, the problem is that all doors are suddenly gone.More...
Thermopylae2005-10-23A distraught man in coat and tie grips the guardrail at a remote cliff overlooking the Pacific. At a boys' high school in toney Rancho Palos Verdes, Mr. Radford teaches classics. His best student is the earnest Andrew. Late one evening, Andrew stops by Mr. Radford's office; Andrew's been the only student to do well on a recent exam. They chat, and something happens that brings a sleepless night to Mr. Radford. The next day, Andrew misses Mr. Radford's class, and after, Mr. Radford is aghast to see Andrew and Andrew's father waiting outside the principal's office. What's the teacher's fear, and what will he do about it?More...
Bibleman: Jesus Our Savior2002-10-22In this combined feature of Jesus, Our Savior Parts 1 and 2, we are introduced to the most sinister, most evil villain, Primordious Drool. Drool knows he cannot win against Bibleman on is own and has a plan to fight our favorite superhero. He intends to make Bibleman fight against himself. Drool drives the citizens of Andersonville to trust in Bibleman instead of God. Bibleman faces is toughest challenge ever as he has to explain to the townspeople that they cannot look to him as a superhero to save them. They must look to God, for only God can answer their prayers.More...
Let Me Go Home2002-02-02In hustle and bustle of urban life, we sometimes don't know our neighbors next door. And in the village, everyone knows each other and lives with the joys, troubles, and worries of a neighbor, like one big family. That's why a person is pulled to their small homeland, to their roots. The one who forgets their roots experiences a burdensome emptiness and dissatisfaction with their achievements in life.More...
Rapport från Stockholms sexträsk1974-03-18Stockholm in the 70's. A shady world of sex clubs and porn shops. "Report from the red light district of Stockholm" might as well been called Mondo Stockholm. It is a Swedish pseudo documentary designed as cruising the underbelly of Stockholm, with a unhealthy mixture of authentic and faked scenes. The street scene of the night. An entire striptease number. A dark drama shot from a car driving through the central Stockholm, while the reporter interviews a prostitute in the backseat about her tariff.More...
Hello! Project Kenshuusei Happyoukai 2021 3gatsu ~Yell~2021-03-13Hello Pro Kenshuusei's March 2021 recital.More...
Kultainen kynttilänjalka1946-09-06Two men steal a precious candelabra at a mansion they accidentally burn down. Two years later, one of the thieves is a wealthy property owner. But he is tormented by his memories and debt.More...
Ki Kore Toke Bolbo2016-02-12A woman wants to divorce her husband, but is forced to live with him for six months first. Will she long to be with the one she loves, or will she learn to love the one she's with?More...- Cirque de Pic2020-04-08There is no descriptionMore...
Reverse proxy2015-11-19David Reis is a young computer technician who, after losing his job, gets involved,alongside his friend Luis Pires, in a risky business. Luis, an independent journalist who is narcissistic and obsessed with fame, wants to use David’s hacking skills to leak classified data that would prove fraud in the voting polls of the 2014 presidential elections.More...
With What Shall I Wash2003-01-01An animated short film in which the images blend with humor and originality. Sixteenth-century music sung brings an emotional dimension, which makes this short with a touch of brilliant production in gay cinematography. The short film won the TEDDY AWARD for short films at the 54th International Film Festival in Berlin in 2004. Day break in the red-light district of a Spanish town. Someone who earns their living in these parts makes their way home, sits down in front of the mirror and begins to remove their make-up. As they do so, they reflect on the events of the night to the strains of a song from the Middle Ages entitled "¿Con qué la lavaré?", a lament about single women which was once sung in four-part harmony. A celluloid tribute to homosexual artistes of the late 1970s, just after Franco's dictatorship.More...
Similar Movies
Intimate Strangers
1977-11-11The pressures of problems at home and at work are taking a tremendous toll on a middle-aged husband, and he begins to take it out on his wife.Princess Cut 3: Beaut...
2022-02-10A down-on-her-luck waitress witnesses a domestic disturbance and develops an unexpected relationship with the policeman investigating the case.Personal Velocity
2002-01-12In a series of three vignettes, three women in turn struggle to free themselves from the men who restrict their personal freedom.Caterpillar
2010-08-14The story of a village woman given the grueling task of looking after (and fulfilling the sexual needs of) her quadruple amputee husband, a Japanese soldier in the Second Sino-Japanese War who has been decreed a "War God" by the Emperor.Murder: By Reason of ...
1985-10-01A married couple from Poland emigrates to the U.S.,. but things don't turn out as well as they had imaged. The husband's business fails, while his wife's career really takes off. The husband, unable to cope with the pressures of his failed business, his failing marriage and the adjustments necessary to live in a completely different society, begins to take out his frustrations on his wife.Aayitha Ezhuthu
2004-05-21A goon, who dreams of making it big in life, a student leader, who strives to keep politicians away from college election and a third guy who wants to settle abroad. Their lives change after an incident on a bridge.Homebound
1989-03-10Mika's mother marries a man who is getting out of the jail. At the beginning everything seems to be all right. Mika leaves Oulu, an industrial city up in Northern Finland, to study in the capital, Helsinki. He does very well with his studies and also begins a relationship with the girl he knew already back in Oulu. Meanwhile the new husband reveals his true self - and all of a sudden things get very serious.Run for Your Life
2014-10-04Journalist Meredith Redmond is a battered Canadian woman who flees Canada to escape her abusive husband, Robert. She settles in Seattle, but her now-remarried ex-husband eventually finds her. To protect her two children, she must choose between killing him herself, hiring someone to kill him, or disappearing with her children and assuming new identities. Based on a true story.Every Breath She Take...
2023-03-25After suffering years of mental abuse from her husband, Jules thinks she's finally free when a physical struggle ends in a fire that takes his life. However, she's soon pushed to the edge as she starts to believe she's seeing him at every turn.Caught
1996-01-24A middle-aged couple has a drifter enter their lives. The fish-store owners find that the mysterious young man awakens the couple in ways they didn't expect. Things get tense when the drifter begins an affair with the woman of the house.Whitney Houston: I Wa...
2022-12-20The joyous, emotional, heartbreaking celebration of the life and music of Whitney Houston, the greatest female R&B pop vocalist of all time. Tracking her journey from obscurity to musical superstardom.Her
2018-09-27To escape a marriage arranged by her extremely religious father, a young girl seizes the chance to run away and save more than herself.Bird
2024-11-0812-year-old Bailey lives with her single dad Bug and brother Hunter in a squat in North Kent. Bug doesn’t have much time for his kids, and Bailey, who is approaching puberty, seeks attention and adventure elsewhere.One More River
1934-08-06A young lady leaves her brutal husband and meets another man on board a ship.Mister Johnson
1991-03-22In 1923 British Colonial Nigeria, Mister Johnson is an oddity -- an educated black man who doesn't really fit in with the natives or the British. He works for the local British magistrate, and considers himself English, though he has never been to England. He is always scheming, trying to get ahead, which lands him in a lot of hot water.Kapag Napagod ang Pus...
1988-06-30When a harassed movie director takes it on his wife, the battered wife is faced with how long can she take it.Torn
2023-09-22A young woman seeks therapy regarding her anisotropic partner, only to get an undesired response from her therapist.Meliora
2024-05-07Young painter Emma struggles to balance a rocky art career and complicated relationship with her husband. All the while, a dark presence looms over her picture perfect life.Secrets
1992-04-06Producer Mel Wexler is putting together "Manhattan," a night-time soap opera that will definitely be the toast of the town. He puts together a stellar cast, however, each member of this cast has his own little secret: Zach is a Hollywood leading man apparently being blackmailed by 2 mysterious women; Jane was a former daytime soap star who had to abruptly leave her popular role due to problems at home; Bill is a male model whose marital status would rather be kept secret by his agent; Gaby is a struggling actress determined to make it on her own; and Sabina is a legendary film star who must now take a role on a television series due to a serious "involvement" in San Francisco. One by one, their secrets unfold in this television movie based on the bestseller by Danielle Steel. (Summary Written by Phil Fernando)Designed by Preeti
No data for this movieA courageous woman leaves her abusive husband, builds a successful career, and finds love where she least expects it.