Venue: Edinburgh Int'l Film Festival

EDINBURGH -- Relationships between brothers can often provide fertile subject-matter for cinema, but overcooked family-drama “Dummy” is an undistinguished variation on the theme. A reasonably promising feature debut for award-winning shorts director Matthew Thompson, it’s another example of a British project whose many virtues are outweighed by fundamental screenplay deficiencies (story by Thompson and Paula Barnes, script by Muchael Mueller.) While U.K. commercial prospects may be boosted by the presence of fast-rising profile of teen-hunk du jour Aaron Johnson -- from Gurinder Chadha’s upcoming “Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging” -- “Dummy” will otherwise struggle to break out of the festival circuit.

Making copious use of flashback, the film relates how 18-year-old Danny (Johnson) and precocious little brother Jack (Thomas Grant) react to the suicide of their terminally-ill bohemian/artistic mother (Therese Bradley). With their father long absent, the middle-class pair are left to their own devices as Danny is legally old enough to assume parenting duties. Major problems very rapidly ensue.

Though always visually impressive thanks to David Langan’s poised cinematography, there’s something naggingly contrived about the picture’s set-up and plot-development: Sufficiently well-off that finances are never a problem, the family has no relatives, friends or neighbors to disturb the brothers’ unhealthy isolation.

The results are morbid rather than mournful, leading to a climax that veers uncomfortably close to melodramatic histrionics. Indeed rather like the titular fashion-mannequin that Jack dresses and makes up to resemble his deceased parent, “Dummy” may look the part, but never quite convinces as the real thing.

Director: Matthew Thompson. Cast: Aaron Johnson, Thomas Grant, Therese Bradley, Emma Catherwood. Producer: Miranda Robinson. Executive producers: Fiona Gilles, Nicola Fenn, Sean Gascoine. Screenwriter: Michael Muller. Editor: Kant Pan. Director of photography: David Langan. Production designer: Phillip Barber. Score: Phil Hartnoll, Nick Smith.