'Baby Brother' Review: A Raw and Powerful Indie Drama on Family, Love, and Broken Bonds
- Romey Norton
- Sep 7
- 3 min read
By Romey Norton - September 7, 2025
Independent filmmaking often thrives because it's stripped of gloss, powered by raw emotion, and carried by authentic voices. Baby Brother, the debut feature from Liverpool-based writer-director Michael J. Long, is exactly that kind of film. Shot in just 11 days with local talent and a micro-budget, the film has already made waves on the festival circuit, winning the Hans Ohlms Award for Best Debut Film at the Oldenburg International Film Festival and earning a nomination at the BAFTA-qualifying British Urban Film Festival. Now, ahead of its release on Google Play & YouTube Movies and TV on September 12th, it’s ready to reach a wider audience.
What is the film Baby Brother about?
At its core, Baby Brother is a deeply human story about fractured family ties and society. It follows Adam and his vulnerable younger brother Liam across two separate days, five years apart. Once inseparable, the two brothers now find themselves navigating the wreckage of broken love, regret, and unspoken truths.
The decision to structure the story around two days gives the film a sharp emotional focus. It’s about the emotional gulf that has widened between the brothers, and how memory, guilt, and loyalty collide when they’re forced back into each other’s lives.
The fact that the film was shot with Liverpool talent adds an extra layer of authenticity to the acting. There’s a naturalism to the performances and the dialogue that makes Baby Brother feel both personal and universal. The brothers' characters feel lived-in, their relationship layered with both warmth and ache. The vulnerability and naivety in Liam’s character, contrasted with Adam’s conflicted stoicism, creates a dynamic that pulls the audience in immediately. Paddy Rowan as Adam is fantastic - I really enjoyed watching this brotherly male experience; growing up in Liverpool, masculine pressures, and how their fate is shaped by society and where they’ve been brought up. This is from struggling to find a job, to getting girls pregnant at a young age, fighting, drugs, being from a single parent household; everything wrapped in under an hour and half is extremely impressive.
The film isn’t afraid to show the nitty-gritty, the good and the bad of Liverpool. Early on in the film there is a voiceover of someone talking about Liverpool as if from the news and this is a lovely little touch. There’s lots of swearing and some violence; some uncomfortable violence, the kind that puts a lump in your throat. As the story progresses I began to think, where is this going, what is the big event going to be? And I was not let down. I was shocked at the reveal half way through and was even more gripped than before.
Visually, there are some intense close-ups, and one of my favourite scenes is a section where we watch a kid on a bike riding through a street swearing at everyone. With soft piano music behind it, it’s just a humble, yet striking scene. For a self-funded film shot in less than two weeks, Baby Brother feels remarkably assured. Long’s direction shows a filmmaker unafraid to display the truth, unapologetic in dialogue and gives space for the tension between characters to unfold without overstatement.
Now not all films are perfect and Baby Brother has its flaws. The past is shot in black and white, and whilst this works, for me it’s a tired practice and overdone. Some of the shots were very dark as well, so this felt a little disjointed. Especially in one scene where the dialogue was very intense, it was so dark and because of the angles of the camera’s, I was a little annoyed that I couldn't see the actors properly.
The ending is thought-provoking and will leave you with many questions, a lot unanswered.
Is the film Baby Brother worth watching?
Absolutely. Baby Brother is proof of what independent filmmakers can achieve with passion, resourcefulness, and a story worth telling. While its micro-budget roots are visible, they never undermine the raw emotional core at its heart. Instead, they give it an authenticity that big-budget dramas often lack. With themes of brotherhood, regret, and the bonds that can both hold us together and tear us apart, Baby Brother is one of the most impressive indie films I’ve seen in years.
'Baby Brother' will be released on Google Play & YouTube Movies and TV September 12. Coming soon to Amazon.
Want more Independent film reviews? Check out more content on our website Film Focus Online!
