For all this Rodney Evans certainly deserves praise. The performances are solid, the dialogue flows, the characters are interesting, and the cinematography is way above the average for a first time indie effort. 'Brother to Brother' has much to recommend it. Hopefully he will go on to create masterpieces and amazing films but this is not it. However labelling this a 'masterpiece' or 'amazing' is to do a disservice to Evans. Rodney Evans proves himself a director and writer with a lot of promise.
As others have pointed out, it's informative and educational in its depiction and discussions of the Harlem Renaissance about which not terribly much is known by the wider public. Let me state clearly, that to my mind, 'Brother to Brother' is in no way mediocre clearly having being made with much care and devotion. With themes of being black as well as being gay, 'Brother to Brother' is a perfect candidate for such slanted criticism. Countless of very mediocre gay themed movies have received disproportionate praise. It's all very well being supportive of a particular minority group, but biased criticism ultimately does nobody any good. There is a strong and understandable tendency to over praise films dealing with or representing minority groups simply as a means of encouragement.
