Stream It Or Skip It: ‘Bruiser’ on Hulu, A Growing Teen Gets Caught in the Middle of Two Volatile Father Figures (2024)

The latest male-themed coming-of-age story charts a different course than the standard fare as Bruiser, the first feature film from Disney’s BIPOC-focused programming unit Onyx Collective, debuts on Hulu. Picture yourself as a teenager whose just getting by, trying not to bother a soul until a bloodied mouth makes you question your father’s advice about not retaliating. A stranger tries to show you another way, mainly because he knows that there’s a dark and life-altering story behind the advice.

BRUISER: STREAM IT OR SKIP IT?

The Gist: Fourteen-year old Darious (played by Jalyn Hall) is at a crossroads that’s familiar to most teenaged boys: how to assert more of himself away from the watchful eyes of his parents. Yet the path in doing so opens wounds he was previously unaware of. On summer vacation from boarding school, he returns home to a town that he has little interest in. After some roughhousing with a friend goes too far, Darious encounters Porter (Trevante Rhodes), who talks to our protagonist about self-defense. Porter knew Darious’ father Malcolm (Shamier Anderson), and slightly reveals to Darious that there’s more to his childhood friend than meets the eye.

Porter calls Darious’ mother Monica (Shinelle Azoroh) in hopes of setting up a meeting with her and Malcolm to talk about their son. The three knew each other as kids, and it turns out that Porter is Darious’ biological father who is trying to reconnect with his son after abandoning him 12 years prior. Malcolm is angry and wary yet trusts Monica’s decision to give Porter an opportunity to get to know Darious, set on their cautious terms. That rage simmers and sets the tone for the film.

What Movies Will It Remind You Of?: Much of Bruiser’s essence will remind you of the 2016 film Moonlight, the Oscar winner for Best Picture from Barry Jenkins. The films share some cinematography elements – the camera focus, the somewhat dour monochromatic color palates and dimmed lighting give many scenes an intimacy that can almost feel uncomfortable as the moments of tension play themselves out. It’s also easy to think of Moonlight because of Rhodes, who plays both the adult protagonist Chiron in Moonlight and the antagonistic drifter Porter in Bruiser.

Though it doesn’t have the run time and the featured stories span a wider range of time, another acclaimed film that came to mind was Richard Linklater’s 2014 opus Boyhood in its focus on how a young kid comes of age and contends with a fraught father-son relationship.

The tension that builds between Darious and Malcolm becomes palpable, reminiscent of the relationship between Troy (Denzel Washington) and his son Cory (Jovan Adepo) in August Wilson’s Fences, the iconic stage play which Washington adapted for the 2016 film.

Performance Worth Watching: Rhodes’ presence is inescapable, and for good reason. He plays Porter with an understated charm that belies all the mysteriousness that comes into frame when he’s on camera. You feel as if he’s going to take you down a dark path, and eventually as you both go that way, you’ve sympathized with him nearly the whole way through.

Memorable Dialogue: In a confrontation between Malcolm and Porter, you think the two will come to blows if one says the wrong words to the other. Porter rocks ever so slightly as he stands toe-to-toe with Malcolm, whose simmering with anger. He points to Malcolm’s heart and calmly says “you got a disease in your heart, bruh. It’s killing your family.”

Sex and Skin: Zero sex, but a few minutes of skin. When we’re first introduced to Porter, you immediately see that Rhodes is insanely chiseled. Clearly, the 33-year-old still lifts – he was a high school football player and a former sprinter for the University of Texas.

Our Take: The title alone suggests violence, though it’s not – pardon the play on words – a bruiser of a film by any stretch. Instead, the title is a metaphor for what’s left when something goes irreparably wrong in a father-son relationship. Writers Ben Medina and Miles Warren (the latter directed the film) use backstories about violence to build the film’s tension while also being selective with the use of actual violent acts. What’s also unique about Bruiser is that while there’s a predominantly Black and brown cast, it’s not an exclusive Black and/or brown story. That should help viewers of all stripes embrace the movie because films about fatherhood and/or violence in those communities can quickly devolve into worn out and inaccurate cliches.

Our Call: STREAM IT! There’s buzz around Bruiser because of how well Hall and Rhodes share the screen in their respective roles. On Hall, he plays Darious with a relatability will connect with teenagers who may share the same experience as the character or know someone who does. Rhodes broke out in Moonlight and has been trusted with carrying some or all of the load for other major releases, such as The Predator and Mike, Hulu’s unauthorized series on Mike Tyson. Yet his turn in Bruiser feels as if he’s realized his full power as a dramatic actor. While not a perfect film – its ending will work for some and frustrate others – he can command the screen without dimming the light of his co-starts, particularly Hall. We don’t know if Rhodes is ‘HIM’ just yet, but he’s certainly in line for more leading roles.

Jason Clinkscales is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Whole Game, and his work has been featured at Awful Announcing, The Week and Dime Magazine. A New York City native, he is also a former media research analyst in both television networks and advertising agencies.