Dr. Brinks, paging Dr. Brinks!
Dr. Brinks & Dr. Brinks is a dark comedy that centers on two adult siblings who are reunited after the death of their parents. The two siblings Marcus (Scott Rodgers) and Michelle (Kristin Slaysman) have to sort out the inheritance. In the meantime, Michelle gets a little too chummy with Marcus’ father in law which makes for some awkward dinner discussions.
The film had quite a few things that stood out to me. The plot, the cast, and the cinematography. Let’s start with the plot.
You may have watched films in the past where the plot was that a dead relative’s estate was the cause of all the family problems. In this film, sorting out the parents’ estate is just what’s keeping the siblings together. Michelle is from out of state and because of the ongoing problems in their parents’ paperwork, it is what keeps Michelle back in her childhood home which her brother has been living in with his wife Alex (Ashley Spillers). While Marcus and Alex are out working, Michelle is at home bored out of her mind looking for something to keep her occupied. That “something” is actually a someone and that someone is Alex’s father Bill (Robert Longstreet). Michelle and Bill, who is separated from his wife and not divorced, end up hooking up and that’s where things get even more interesting.
“…centers on two adult siblings who are reunited after the death of their parents.”
The added conflict of the sexual relationship between Michelle and Bill makes some awkward and somewhat funny moments in the film. It’s almost as if the parents’ estate starts being more of a substory rather than the main story of the film. At some point, you almost forget about the estate but when you begin to forget, the film reminds you by introducing a new factor regarding the estate. And this is all a result of good storytelling.
The film didn’t have any household names but it did have actors that have some a pretty good amount of credits to their names. I felt that the four main characters Marcus, Michelle, Alex, and Bill were perfectly cast. They were believable and really helped the film move an okay pace for being as somber as it is.
Now to the cinematography. With indie films, you never know what to expect other than it will most likely not be top notch production but this film had some more than exceptional shots. It looked like it was a film with a pretty decent budget. There was no shaky camerawork or out of focus shots. It was very crisp and clean. You can’t ask for much more with indie films. Crisp and clean shots are rare to come by.
“… a very good cast that just really fit together…”
One negative that I had with the film is that for some reason it felt like something was missing. I’m not sure if it should have been funnier or that it felt like there was a climax missing but there definitely was something missing. But other than that, I have no complaints.
Although I had no expectations and felt like Dr. Brinks & Dr. Brinks was lacking something, the film surprised me in a lot of ways. It may not have had star power behind it but it had a very good cast that just really fit together, it had some pretty well-done cinematography, an interesting plot and a pretty decent script.
Dr. Brink & Dr. Brink (2018) Written and directed by Josh Crockett. Starring Kristin Slaysman, Scott Rodgers, Ashley Spillers, Robert Longstreet.
8 out of 10
