Part family drama, part war movie -- Brothers is a well-made
intense film that has enough drama, action, and light-hearted moments
that it should intrigue and find a broad audience. If nothing else it
includes some solid Oscar-worthy performances from Tobey Maguire, Jake
Gyllenhaal, and Natalie Portman that are worth the price of admission
alone.
Sam Cahill (Maguire) and his wife Grace (Portman) were
high school sweethearts who got married, had two kids -- Maggie (Taylor
Geare) and Isabelle (Bailee Madison) -- and live a generally ideal
family life. Sam is also a respected captain in the Marines and is
about to head back to Afghanistan on a new mission. Meanwhile, Sam's
brother Tommy (Gyllenhaal) has been in prison for a few years for
robbing a bank and is just being released before Sam heads out. Grace
is not a fan of Tommy and neither is their father Hank (Sam Shepard)
who looks down on him for not being as good a man as Sam.
While
in Afghanistan, a helicopter Sam is riding in gets shot down and he and
Private Joe Willis (Patrick Flueger) are taken hostage. The Marines
believe Sam to be dead and inform Grace of this news. Months pass and
Sam and Joe are being tortured daily for information on their mission.
Back home Grace and Tommy are becoming close friends. He's been helping
her around the house and is filling in as a father figure for the kids.
The two of them are also falling for each other.
Then Sam is
rescued. He returns home a changed, cold man and has no feelings for
Grace and the kids. All he can think about is whether Tommy slept with
her while he was a prisoner fighting for his life in Afghanistan.
Consumed by these thoughts, he starts to crack and then finally snaps.
Brothers
is a film that relies on strong outings from the key cast in order to
work. This is a side of Maguire we've never seen and we can thank
director Jim Sheridan for getting this performance out of him. He led
Daniel Day-Lewis and Brenda Fricker to Oscars in 1989 for My Left Foot and knows how to push his cast to the limit (Day-Lewis was also nominated for an Oscar in Sheridan's In the Name of the Father but lost to Tom Hanks for Philadelphia).
Gyllenhaal and Portman have never been so sincere onscreen either and I
was also impressed with the young Bailee Madison. This kid is powerful
and is sure to take Hollywood by storm for years to come.
I have not seen the 2004 Danish film Brødre which Brothers is based on so I can't compare the two. On its own though Brothers
is an excellent drama that has a strong, mature script and isn't afraid
to switch gears when you expect it to go a certain direction. It's a
film I predict will grow over time and find new viewers along the way.
*** out of 5 stars
Rated R
Cast: Tobey Maguire, Natalie Portman, Jake Gyllenhaal
Directed by: Jim Sheridan
Official Site IMDb
brian.mckechnie@citynews.rogers.com
ALSO OPENING THIS WEEK: Everybody's Fine, Up in the Air, PAA, The Private Lives of Pippa Lee, Red Cliff, Armored
Top image: Tobey Maguire and Natalie Portman in Brothers. Courtesy Alliance Films.