Brothers

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Brothers

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Brothers

Natalie Portman, Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal, Bailee Madison, Carey Mulligan

A young man comforts his older brother's wife and children after he goes missing in Afghanistan. Based on Susanne Bier's film, "Brothers".

Id: 11039633

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Recent Reviews

Brothers Recent Reviews
  • her69eyes
    January 6, 2010
    her69eyes
    "Brothers" is a film unfortunately doomed to come and go. Suffering from an unfortunate release date in the wake of "Avatar" and big Oscar hopefuls like "Up in the Air", this bizarre tale of post-traumatic stress disorder hasn't quite connected with American audiences. The film, ...( read more)however, is way too good to overlook.

    A remake of Susanne Bier's Danish film of the same title from 2004, "Brothers" deals with Capt. Sam Cahill (Tobey Maguire), a captured soldier presumed dead in Afghanistan, and his black sheep brother, Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal), who attempts to comfort his brother's wife, Grace (Natalie Portman), after learning of his death. Tommy, who is released from prison in the film's opening credits, becomes a distressingly good surrogate for Sam - so much so that both Grace and her two daughters (Bailee Madison and Taylor Geare) readily accept him as Sam's replacement.

    Sam is rescued shortly after being forced to do horrific things at the hands of his captors. He's now scarred, distant - when first arriving at home, he shows no overt signs of aggression, but his eyes are void of any humanity. The man who had been so patient and loving in the film's beginning now sits at the dinner table, eyes unblinking and glazed over, and nearly attacks his own daughter, who had been torturing him out of disdain. That dinner table scene, so masterfully performed by everyone involved (especially the children), exemplifies why "Brothers" cannot be overlooked.

    The film has been criticized as melodramatic, but melodrama is not necessarily a bad thing. If you distance yourself from the proceedings, it's easy to see the material as a bit silly, vague, implausible. Sheridan and his screenwriter, David Benioff, pace the material well enough that I was never distracted. The film's promotion would've had you thinking it's a thriller about an insane brother, but those commercials are deceptive in that they reveal the climax and nothing more. The rest of the film is methodically paced and quiet, letting the actors do what they can to draw us into their characters before all hell breaks loose.

    I've never had much of a problem with the film's three leads, but I also never quite knew they were capable of what they brought to the film. Gyllenhaal, in particular, gives what I might consider his best performance - watch his response to learning of Sam's death, for instance, and then his interactions with Sam's little girls. The transformation that Tommy goes through, from bad-boy to loving family man, could've been very hard-to-swallow, but Gyllenhaal is so terrific that it flows naturally. When Sam's girls express that they prefer Tommy to their own father, we don't question it.
  • Galeocerdo
    January 5, 2010
    Galeocerdo
    Review coming soon.
  • yona71
    December 11, 2009
    yona71
    A mesmerizing, gloomy depiction of a tortured Marine captain's return from duty in Afghanistan to his once happy family.
    Natalie Portman, Tobey Maguire, and Jake Gyllenhaal turn in brilliant performances in this film, and the premise is something that needs to be addressed due t...( read more)o the number of soldiers who come back carrying the war with them, and have it flashing consistently in their fragile minds.
    Tobey Maguire portrays the Marine captain, and Jake Gyllenhaal portrays his brother who was recently released from prison. As an ex-Marine himself in Vietnam, the father(Sam Shepard) is inclined to favor the son serving his country, but learns that heroes are not only needed on the battlefields of war, but on the battlefields of life itself.
  • LitelBluHli
    December 8, 2009
    LitelBluHli
    It's a dark film starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Tobey Maguire, and Natalie Portman. Two brothers who are different from one another; one is the golden boy and the other is an outsider. After reported missing while in Afghanistan, Capt. Sam Cahill's (Maguire) family assumes that he is ...( read more)dead. Tommy (Gyllenhaal) tries to be there for his brother's wife, Grace (Portman) and daughters as they try to get on with their lives. Once Sam is back home, he doesn't seem quite himself. I think both Gyllenhaal and Maguire had strong performances. It was great to see Maguire in that role...he was crazy!! =)
  • mvieaddict
    January 3, 2010
    mvieaddict
    I'm glad I watched the original Danish version, before I saw this Hollywood remake of Brothers. I have to say it has been quite the same with the original version, only Jim Sheridan made some changes in this one.It was an emotional movie about family, love and survival. The cast ...( read more)consisting of Tobey Maguire, probably one of the best in his career, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Nathalie Portman, playing the army wife, their performances were strong and amazing. Let me say that this movie was as good as the original one and it was a realistic portrayal of an army family, dealing with problems when their love ones comes back from war. The ending was probably what you're not expecting, if you saw the original then you knew how the ending would be. Let's hope a nomination for Tobey Maguire for this role.
  • jschartrand
    January 5, 2010
    jschartrand
    Well-acted, directed and written, but it's has been said a thousand times and we always come to the same conclusion.. Stills there's a lot of beautiful moments.
  • Bigtymert83
    January 5, 2010
    Bigtymert83
    Wonderful movie, lot's of emotion and it keeps you zoned in the whole time...
  • mtigg52
    January 5, 2010
    mtigg52
    Great story line! Ending is a tearjerker
  • Jackdylan1
    January 5, 2010
    Jackdylan1
    Interesting look at a family of war. Toby Maguire is strong with his expression of mental decay in his return home from Afghanistan. The story delves in to a tenuous and mildly offensive depiction of the Afghan characters, but the movie rests on the performance of its lead.
  • mizzyoke
    January 4, 2010
    mizzyoke
    Brothers is a heartfelt and intelligent story and it tells a different side of war. The all star casts including Natalie Portman, Jake Gyllenhaal and Tobey Maguire gave a stellar and Oscar worthy performances in this project. Maguire is especially exceptional, watching this film ...( read more)you will forget that he's spiderman. Bravo!!!!
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