The Brute (Limited Edition)

This film begins with a cursory description of battered women and the choices they make. This is followed by a brutal attack on a woman, who is sleeping alone in her own bed. She flees the house, only to return. It is not until the following morning that we discover the attack was perpetrated by her husband, and that he has been attacking her in a similar manner for some time. He is an otherwise wealthy, respectable citizen and she works as a professional model, which creates an ostensible disconnect for the viewer. So, spousal abuse can occur among any socio-economic class; point taken. She eventually moves out, the two fight over custody of their young son and the viewer falls asleep. Aside from the occasional swear word or glimpse of nudity, there isn't much here to distinguish this turgid melodrama from countless other made-for-TV films. Every man is a drunkard, a philanderer, an abuser or all of the above; how original... Perhaps the best reason to see this film, at least for yours truly, is to see a fairly early starring role for Sarah Douglas. The beautiful Ms. Douglas, who is probably best known for her role as Ursa in the "Superman" movies, turns in a very good performance as the battered wife. Here she looks and sounds strikingly similar to Gina Bellman (of "Coupling" and "Blackeyes" fame), which I mean in the most flattering sense possible. Playing the batterer is Julian Glover, who is probably best known to American audiences for his roles in James Bond, Star Wars and Indiana Jones films. Special mention needs to go to Trinity Home Entertainment for its presentation of the DVD. Even though there are no special features, the picture is presented in widescreen format and the picture looks exceptional. This comes as a completely pleasant surprise, given the low price and relative obscurity of the film. Film: 2/5 stars, DVD: 4/5 stars

This is not the movie I was looking for with this title. This movie was a good movie though. I can relate to this movie some what. I like old movies and this one had a good plot to it.

Thanks

(Reviewing the BluRay Limited Edition, not any earlier DVD release).Sarah Douglas plays the battered wife of Julian Glover who, after a couple of particularly violent exchanges, leaves home and discovers other women who are also victims of domestic abuse. At times hard to watch, the film mixes exploitation into the serious storyline, made more realistic thanks to an overall fine cast and thought-provoking screenplay by director Gerry O’Hara.Although wondering whether this harrowing movie can really be viewed as “entertainment”, “The Brute” is nevertheless a rarely seen film with a message, worth seeking out in spite of its harrowing sequences. Once reviled by some critics at the time of its 1977 theatrical release, it’s presented here in two versions (UK uncensored and export). Besides several Special Features, this limited edition comes with a 36 page glossy booklet that includes an essay on the importance of the movie’s subject matter.

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

Sarah Douglas plays a pretty model who's married to a rich businessman in the form of Julian Glover (looking more like Jeffrey Archer than ever!!). They live in an English country mansion, on a large estate and their son goes to a posh public school. From the outside it appears they live an opulent life and that all is the perfect English dream, that is until night time falls and Glover's faulty wiring takes over and he turns into a lunatic, battering the living daylights out of Douglas with whatever comes to hand. Only to then coolly excuse his behaviour the next morning by accusing Douglas of imaginary affairs.Naturally Douglas gets fed up to the back teeth of his violent bullying and goes to live with her friends, which annoys her hubby even more....Okay, don't really know where to start with this one. . .It plays like the most inappropriate public information film on the subject of domestic violence ever made, with one outrageous scene following another! Helped along with a sound support cast (with folk like Bruce 'Private Road' Robinson), and Glover on top form as the husband from hell.Of course as Douglas moves out she meets more women who are treated terribly by their men folk, and so we get to see them attacked too, with the general message seeming to be that all men are b*stards..The film however surely failing as a serious expose into the world of wife beating, by featuring almost constant sexism, casual racism and frequent explosions of exploitative violence! With a prime example of this being a super scene, in which Glover, having bought a branding iron from an antiques dealer, actually tries to then brand Sarah Douglas on the backside with it!! Oh, and another of my favourites being a sequence, whereby, a particularly tosserish husband, storms a house in order to get back his property (his wife!), only for her friend, a cool black chick, to kung fu his ass and kick him out!Absolute gold!All in all it's pretty distasteful, heavy handed and offensive, but that hasn't stopped me enjoying this a few times over the years and I really (errr... sort of!) recommend this British P.I.F./horror drama mishmash to anybody willing to give it a go, especially if it ticks your nostalgia boxes, being both a funny and disturbing Brit horror drama from the 1970s. Which, dependent on your viewing habits, could well give the term 'guilty pleasure' a whole new yardstick in your collection!The region 1 'Trinity' print is definitely watchable but has no extras whatsoever, with a cover that makes it look like 'When A Stranger Calls'.4.5/5 rounded up!