There are comedies with dark moments, there are dark comedies and then there’s pitch black dark comedies where there’s no hope for anybody involved. I had two surprises with this movie. The first one was that it really went for the complete and total damnation of the characters involved. The second one was that as dark as it got, I found myself enjoying its runtime. I don’t know if that says more about me than the film.

brothers_nest

Brothers’ Nest happens in the confines of one little house and involving primarily the lives of brothers Terry and Jeff, played by real life brothers Shane Jacobson and the director Clayton Jacobson acting along. Terry is the family man, possibly about to get divorced. Jeff is the professional, planning everything to the last minute. And what needs planning on this dark and gloomy day is the murder of their stepfather.

Director Clayton Jacobson is going for the slow burn here, but all signs point to this meticulously calibrated murder to go awry. Jeff has planned everything to the bone, with things to do for every hour until the expected visit from Rodger, their stepfather. The deal is that their mother is undergoing cancer treatment and with her short life expectations, she’s decided to leave the house to Rodger in her will instead of her two sons.

The dialog is witty, sharp and points to the constant differences between the two siblings. As the time moves on and the time of reckoning nears, it becomes evident that the two brothers have different ideas on how this is going to go. As dark a comedy as it gets, I don’t believe anybody expected the story to take an even darker turn. When it happens, you are literally left thinking and now what? Which means that from that point on, you do not know where the movie is going.

Recommended with reservations. And I have reservations on those reservations. The main deal here is that although I feel I should warn you this movie is going to go down a very dark road, you might still want to travel along. It’s definitely far from a light comedy but it’s quite sharp and the performances are solid. In this era of so much safe bets on movies that have mediocre plots, this is a rather unsafe film with a strong execution.

That will do for now.