My Brother Tom (2001)

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A girl finds that both love and tragedy are a short walk from her house in this intimate drama. Jessica (Jenna Harrison) is a teenaged girl from a wealthy family living in a small community in the British countryside. Jessica enjoys exploring in the woods and sometimes rescues wounded animals; another youngster who spends a lot of time in the woods is Tom (Ben Whishlaw), a troubled soul who is obviously attracted to Jessica. Jack (Adrian Rawlins), a teacher at Jessica's school, lives in her neighborhood, and one night he rapes her; emotionally shattered, Jessica retreats to the woods, where she meets up with Tom. Unable to talk with anyone about the incident, Jessica finds herself bonding with Tom, and a tentative romance begins to grow between them. One day, Jessica stops by Tom's house to find him being molested by his father (Jonathan Hackett), who has hated his son ever since his wife died while giving birth to him. Tom avoids Jessica after he realizes she knows his secret, but when she's finally able to speak with him, she tells Tom about Jack's attack upon her, hoping to share their common shame and humiliation; to her surprise, Tom reacts with a startling and unexpected vehemence. My Brother Tom was shot on digital video equipment by cinematographer Robby Muller, well known for his camerawork for Wim Wenders and his ground-breaking work on DV with Lars Von Trier. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi