Inside Brothers on Three: The West Point Rugby Documentary Film Redefining Military Brotherhood

When filmmaker and Army veteran Sean Mullin set out to capture the story of the Service Academy Army West Point's rugby team, it wasn’t about just making a sports documentary. It was about telling a deeply personal story rooted in experience, brotherhood, and a bold reimagining of what it means to be a man in the military. The result, Brothers on Three, is a powerful and emotional feature-length documentary set to open in theaters nationwide on November 7, 2025. With the kind of access and authenticity rarely seen in military or collegiate sports films, it's a unique viewing experience. 

Filmed primarily during the 2023 season, one year after the Black Knights’ historic national championship win, Brothers on Three is a blend of candid interviews, vérité footage, and archival material that offers viewers an unprecedented look inside two often misunderstood worlds: rugby and West Point. But perhaps more than anything, the film captures something even rarer — a portrayal of military masculinity that feels emotionally vulnerable, grounded, and above all, human.

“This isn’t just a rugby movie,” Mullin told me during our interview. “It’s a story about a resilient group of young men who exhibit the most authentic and refreshing portrait of positive masculinity I’ve ever seen on screen.”

Mullin would know. A former rugby player at West Point himself, he served as an artillery officer in the late ‘90s before transitioning to the New York National Guard— a move that placed him on the front lines of Ground Zero during 9/11. He would later channel his experiences into a career in filmmaking, including the acclaimed Yogi Berra documentary It Ain’t Over. But this latest project is arguably his most personal.

“I don’t know if I would have graduated if I didn't have rugby, honestly,” Mullin admitted. “It was that integral, a piece of… of who I was, and … the seed for this film was actually born then.”

One of the most striking elements of Brothers on Three is its unflinching portrayal of emotional openness among cadets. Mullin doesn’t shy away from showing these young men offering love and support to one another—on and off the field—and the result is profoundly affecting. From jersey ceremonies filled with heartfelt tributes to tearful reflections on leadership and loss, the film captures what happens when men are encouraged to be emotionally honest in an environment more often associated with toughness and restraint. It’s a powerful, rarely seen portrait of masculinity—one rooted in vulnerability, connection, and care.

“They do love each other. And the way they talk about love…” Mullin said. “They get teary-eyed when they talk about it.”

Fittingly, the film’s emotional crescendo doesn’t arrive on the field with a game-winning play—it comes during a graduation celebration. There, in the middle of a night out with teammates, standout player Connor Fay spontaneously stood on a table and delivered a poem about brotherhood. It was unplanned, raw, and honest—everything Mullin had hoped to capture in this project.

“That was a 12-hour shoot day,” Mullin recalled. “Then we cleaned up, went out for drinks, and in the middle of it, Connor gets up and gives this poem. My cinematographer, Danny Vecchioni, had our small DSLR camera—wasn’t even our main one. When Connor finished and everyone cheered, I turned to Danny and said, ‘Did you get it? Was it clean?’

It was—and it gave Mullin the perfect ending to a film he’d spent nearly 30 years trying to make.

Getting the project to the finish line was no small feat. Gaining access to West Point for such an intimate and prolonged shoot required Pentagon-level approval, and the project came close to falling apart more than once. But Mullin never let go of the vision.

“It was 99% not happening for six months, but I don’t take no for an answer,” he said. “That's the grit, maybe that's the rugby, I don't know, maybe it's my insane father who was an entrepreneur, and you know, toxically positive. I could say anything growing up as a kid. I could curse, I could say anything, I could not say the word 'problem.' I was not allowed to say the word. I had to say opportunity.”

The documentary also reaches beyond the 2023 season. Mullin weaves in the stories of West Point rugby players who went on to serve, and some who did not return home. One of them, Ian Weikel, was Mullin’s teammate and friend before being killed in action. We see Ian’s widow and children in the film.

“It’s not just a team. It’s a lineage,” Mullin said.

In one scene, a former cadet’s ashes are scattered on the rugby field. In another, new players are taught the names of those who wore the jersey before them.

The underlying message seems to be: leadership isn’t earned in championships, but inherited through sacrifice.

Brothers on Three doesn’t shy away from the hard stuff. It grapples with legacy, the grief of losing teammates to war, and the emotional toll of defeat after a championship season. Through it all, it shows how these cadets evolve—not just as athletes or future officers, but as human beings.

“Sometimes loss is a better crucible for leadership than victory,” Mullin noted, referencing a pivotal moment in the film where team captain Larry must regroup after consecutive losses. “It’s not about how you win. It’s about how you carry yourself when you lose.”

What may be most surprising—especially in today’s divided climate—is how little Brothers on Three concerns itself with politics. In a time when military service is often used as fodder for culture war debates, this film deliberately opts out. Instead, it quietly champions something far more enduring: purpose, unity, and brotherhood.

“I spent two years with these guys and never once knew where they stood politically,” Mullin said. “That’s the beauty of the military. When it’s working the way it should, it’s apolitical. And it’s united around purpose.”

That sentiment echoes throughout the film. Brothers on Three doesn’t lecture or take sides—it simply shows young men learning to lead, to love, and to serve something greater than themselves. In doing so, it may offer the most radical depiction of military service we’ve seen in years—not through bravado or battle scenes, but through quiet resilience and emotional truth.

That unity—fueled by trust, commitment, and love—is the soul of Brothers on Three.

The documentary begins its limited theatrical run on November 7, followed by a nationwide Q&A tour. One of its final—and most meaningful—screenings will be at West Point, the night before the cadets take the field against Navy. For Mullin, it’s a full-circle moment, nearly three decades in the making.

If you’ve served, worn a uniform, played a team sport, or simply wondered what authentic leadership looks like, then Brothers on Three is worth your time. It’s a deeply human film, and in a world hungry for connection, that might be its greatest achievement.