The Brother from Another Planet Movie Review

Written and directed by John Sayles, and characteristic of his work, it is thoughtful, intelligent, and offbeat. But it's not nearly as fun as the genre films (The Howling, Alligator) he wrote for Roger Corman. Joe Morton stars as a mute and enigmatic black extraterrestrial recently arrived in Harlem. By all outward appearances he looks human, but he has hidden supernatural powers (he can repair video machines with just the touch of his hand), not to mention clawed, three-toed feet. Like Chance the gardener in Being There, he has a profound effect on those he meets, because, as jazz singer Dee Dee Bridgewater tells him, “You could be anybody.” She also gets the film's best line. After spending the night with him, she remarks, “You were great in bed last night, but you gonna have to do somethin’ about those toenails.” Sayles and stock company regular David Strathairn appear as alien bounty hunters.

1984 109m/C Joe Morton, Dee Dee Bridgewater, Ren Woods, Steve James, Maggie Renzi, David Strathairn, Tom Wright, Herbert Newsome, Leonard Jackson; Cameos: John Sayles; D: John Sayles; W: John Sayles; C: Ernest R. Dickerson; M: Mason Daring. VHS, Beta FOX, FCT