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Daniele Luchetti's My Brother is an Only Child uses a love-hate relationship between two brothers (played by Elio Germano and Riccardo Scamarcio) from a working-class family to explore the ideological cracks within Italian society during the 1960s and 1970s, the so-called "years of lead". Scripted by Sandro Petraglia and Stefano Rulli (the writers of the epic The Best of Youth), it's an amusing and engagingly acted film, which respects the contradictions of its characters.

Based on the novel Il Fasciocomunista by Antonio Pennacchi, My Brother is an Only Child unfolds in the city of Latina, which was built by Mussolini on marshland south of Rome. The story is narrated by Accio (Germano), an awkward and impulsive adolescent, who signs up to the local fascist organisation run by stallholder Mario (Luca Zingaretti). His elder and more favoured sibling however Manrico (Scamarcio) upholds the family's leftist beliefs by becoming a Communist activist at the local factory. That Accio is drawn to his sibling's girlfriend Francesca (Diane Fleri) further fuels their rivalries.

"IT'S VIBRANTLY SHOT THROUGHOUT"

Like Shane Meadows's This is England, My Brother is an Only Child captures the appeal of joining a far-right gang for a troubled teenager. For Accio, it's much less about the neo-fascist group's political doctrines than the camaraderie and the punch-ups with one's opponents, plus it's a provocative way of rebelling against his own family. The female roles - including the boys' mother and sister - remain peripheral here, but it's vibrantly shot throughout, with the handheld camerawork well suited to conveying Accio's impulsive behaviour.

My Brother is an Only Child is out in the UK on 4th April 2008.