"“A daring piece of film making, and one that certainly sticks with you...”"

This year we have been treated to a host of films depicting London life from a youthful perspective, yet unlike the likes of Offender, Ill Manors and The Man Inside to name but a few, Sally El Hosaini's debut feature My Brother the Devil takes a somewhat more affecting and art house approach to the council estate culture of contemporary Hackney.

We follow two young British Arab brothers Rashid (James Floyd) and Mo (Fady Elsayed) who find themselves caught up in gang-related trouble on the streets. Rashid – the elder brother – is mixed up in gang violence which sees his closest friend Izzi (Anthony Welsh) stabbed to death. Rashid then decides to leave the dangerous lifestyle behind him, although Mo then gets dragged in, hoping to emulate his older brother who he idolises greatly.

Meanwhile, Rashid soon asks questions of his sexuality, having met Sayyid (Said Taghmaoui) who gives him a job in his photography studio. Although while Rashid is growing up and moving on, Mo is being dragged further into a life of crime, and it will take his older brother to convince him to step away from it all, having to swallow his pride and contradict himself in the process.

My Brother the Devil marks a promising debut film for El Hosaini, in what is a brave piece of film making, boldly covering homosexuality within Islam. It also seems like an honest portrayal of urban life in London, as both the situations that arise and the dialect of the characters doesn't seem over the top or exaggerated in the slightest, as the youths speak exactly as they do on the streets. This isn't attempting to cater for a broader, more accessible audience, it revels in realism and tells it like it is. The performances are also strong, particularly from both Floyd and Elsayed, the latter impressing greatly in the early stages of what could well be a promising career.

As for the story – we've seen the whole bad boy from the council estate being unwillingly dragged into a world of crime countless times, but this takes a far more subtle and artistic approach on a familiar subject, featuring some beautifully shot imagery in the process. Such an understated approach avoids any melodrama, whilst refreshingly this film isn't played out over a typical drum and bass, energetic soundtrack. However, for everything unpredictable about My Brother the Devil, there is the occasional moment that you could see coming a mile off. Within a mere matter of minutes you find yourself both rolling your eyes and raising your eyebrows.

My Brother the Devil is simply a daring piece of film making, and one that certainly sticks with you. With strong performances across the board, a steady story and impressive direction, it's a film worth seeing, in what has been a really strong year for the gritty, British gangster genre, as El Hosaini joins an ever-growing list of talented, young British film makers emerging on the scene. If her follow up features are as good as this offering, a long and triumphant career almost certainly beckons.