The moment in Wreckers (2010) when the tension between brothers David (Benedict Cumberbatch) and Nick (Shaun Evans) begins to escalate. And yes, part of the tension is a (most probably unfulfilled) sexual tension. “He fucks you, but he loves me”, shouts Nick at David’s wife Dawn. And there is an intimate tenderness and closeness between the brothers that makes Dawn uncomfortable and jealous.
It’s a love/hate, sub/dom relationship (“He owned me” says Nick about their close childhood alliance), arisen from the violence they experienced through their father.
This scene is nearly unbearable in it’s intensity, and the moment when Nick falls down to his knees and begs his brother’s pardon whereupon Nick kicks him in the head and leaves the room with dead eyes is nauseating.
It’s Cumberbatch who makes the intensity happen. He plays the key figure of this movie, and he is sublime. He’s gut-wrenching, adorable, terrifying, pitiful, enigmatic - sometimes all of it within a minute. It’s a rewarding role, and he gets the most out of it.