Brothers (B or 3/4 stars)
'Brothers', directed by Jim Sheridan (In America) - and remake of a 2004 Danish film (Brodre) - is a well acted, meat & potatoes melodrama. No more, no less ... the kind of film that drives the ball right down the middle; owning both mainstream & art house sensibilities in both plot & character depth. The film opens by introducing us to the 3 main characters. Sam Cahill (Tobey Maguire) is the older brother of Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal). Sam is responsible, kind, & married to his high school sweetheart, Grace (Natalie Portman). Together, they have 2 intelligent, sweet, well-behaved daughters, Isabelle & Maggie (Bailee Madison, Taylor Geare). Sam is a captain in the Marines & is about to return to Afghanistan for yet another tour of duty. He doesn't really mind as he knows he's doing something honorable - his modus operandi.
Tommy has just been released from jail for robbing a bank. If there were a black sheep in his family, he would be it (a quitter, a drunk, a thief, etc.). His father, Hank (a solid Sam Shepard), sees Tommy as a disgrace; always comparing him to his 'superior' son, Sam. Tragedy befalls the family shortly after Sam's return to Afghanistan. He's involved in a horrific Black Hawk helicopter crash & is assumed dead. This awful news shocks Grace & Tommy (amazing acting in these realization scenes). And even though neither of them cared much for each other before Sam's "death" - this tragedy naturally brings the 2 of them closer. Wanting to better himself, & to fill a void (as well as impress Grace & his father), Tommy becomes a sort of father-figure to his doting nieces. Sexual tension slowly develops btwn. Tommy & Grace. But they both feel that their affections for each other are misplaced; a result of shared emotions/grief over Sam's death.
BUT, as the trailers have shown us, Sam is not dead. He & one of his men were captured by the Taliban, held in underground confinement for 2-3 months, & tortured. When Sam is finally rescued & returns, he is not the man he once was. Traumatized. And a nervous mood settles over the family. Grace is happy of his eventual return. But little does she & the rest of the family know how screwed up he truly is. Withdrawn, misunderstood, volatile, & acutely suspicious of his wife & brother, Sam acts out. And after an explosive climactic scene, can the lives of this family ever return to normalcy? What really happened over in Afghanistan?
'Brothers' is yet another film which explores how war can destroy a human being. And yet, it's different & competent enough that comparisons really can't be drawn. There is no political agenda in the narrative; just a portrait of one man, his family, and how war dehumanizes him once he returns home. When one thinks of a hero coming home to his family, you don't automatically assume that matters could actually be worse for him on the home front. While recuperating, Sam even asks his commanding officer if he can return to duty! The only stable connection he has is to the war. We saw evidence of this in The Hurt Locker; where the lead characters would rather be half a world away than to be sitting next to their families. The heightened emotional pain is too much to handle.
'Brothers' takes the time to introduce us to the characters. We see how they are at each stage of their character development (& how they interact with each other through those stages). Tobey Maguire (not one of my favorite actors) gives one of his best performances; having to play - both - the straight, gentile Sam, & the dangerous, mentally unstable Sam after returning home. Jake Gyllenhaal never disappoints me. Tommy has his own demons to fight (though, not as Hellish as Sam's). And Gyllenhaal delivers with piercing honesty, humor & despair. And Natalie Portman acts the conflicted wife role very well (tears, sadness, regret, hope). But Grace doesn't have a personality all of her own. I wish her (and Tommy's, to a degree) character were written more thoroughly.
The acting is there ... in spades. But the character depth is lacking; which would have made for a KNOCK-OUT movie, rather than just a good one. One more note: Bailee Madison (also great in 2007's Bridge to Terabithia) gives one of the best performances I've ever seen from a child actor as Isabelle, who, after failing to reconnect with Sam, prefers Uncle Tommy as a father-figure -- powerful stuff. Overall, I was rarely bored, & mostly engaged throughout 'Brothers'. I feel like there could have been more exposition; more dynamics; more to read between the lines, so to speak. But I do recommend 'Brothers' for its acting, & it's honest display of a fractured family during wartime . There's a moodiness; a hushed tension btwn. the characters that felt right. And while a numbing bleakness hangs over most of the proceedings, the air of hope that's realized in the final scene is much appreciated.
Tommy has just been released from jail for robbing a bank. If there were a black sheep in his family, he would be it (a quitter, a drunk, a thief, etc.). His father, Hank (a solid Sam Shepard), sees Tommy as a disgrace; always comparing him to his 'superior' son, Sam. Tragedy befalls the family shortly after Sam's return to Afghanistan. He's involved in a horrific Black Hawk helicopter crash & is assumed dead. This awful news shocks Grace & Tommy (amazing acting in these realization scenes). And even though neither of them cared much for each other before Sam's "death" - this tragedy naturally brings the 2 of them closer. Wanting to better himself, & to fill a void (as well as impress Grace & his father), Tommy becomes a sort of father-figure to his doting nieces. Sexual tension slowly develops btwn. Tommy & Grace. But they both feel that their affections for each other are misplaced; a result of shared emotions/grief over Sam's death.
BUT, as the trailers have shown us, Sam is not dead. He & one of his men were captured by the Taliban, held in underground confinement for 2-3 months, & tortured. When Sam is finally rescued & returns, he is not the man he once was. Traumatized. And a nervous mood settles over the family. Grace is happy of his eventual return. But little does she & the rest of the family know how screwed up he truly is. Withdrawn, misunderstood, volatile, & acutely suspicious of his wife & brother, Sam acts out. And after an explosive climactic scene, can the lives of this family ever return to normalcy? What really happened over in Afghanistan?
'Brothers' is yet another film which explores how war can destroy a human being. And yet, it's different & competent enough that comparisons really can't be drawn. There is no political agenda in the narrative; just a portrait of one man, his family, and how war dehumanizes him once he returns home. When one thinks of a hero coming home to his family, you don't automatically assume that matters could actually be worse for him on the home front. While recuperating, Sam even asks his commanding officer if he can return to duty! The only stable connection he has is to the war. We saw evidence of this in The Hurt Locker; where the lead characters would rather be half a world away than to be sitting next to their families. The heightened emotional pain is too much to handle.
'Brothers' takes the time to introduce us to the characters. We see how they are at each stage of their character development (& how they interact with each other through those stages). Tobey Maguire (not one of my favorite actors) gives one of his best performances; having to play - both - the straight, gentile Sam, & the dangerous, mentally unstable Sam after returning home. Jake Gyllenhaal never disappoints me. Tommy has his own demons to fight (though, not as Hellish as Sam's). And Gyllenhaal delivers with piercing honesty, humor & despair. And Natalie Portman acts the conflicted wife role very well (tears, sadness, regret, hope). But Grace doesn't have a personality all of her own. I wish her (and Tommy's, to a degree) character were written more thoroughly.
The acting is there ... in spades. But the character depth is lacking; which would have made for a KNOCK-OUT movie, rather than just a good one. One more note: Bailee Madison (also great in 2007's Bridge to Terabithia) gives one of the best performances I've ever seen from a child actor as Isabelle, who, after failing to reconnect with Sam, prefers Uncle Tommy as a father-figure -- powerful stuff. Overall, I was rarely bored, & mostly engaged throughout 'Brothers'. I feel like there could have been more exposition; more dynamics; more to read between the lines, so to speak. But I do recommend 'Brothers' for its acting, & it's honest display of a fractured family during wartime . There's a moodiness; a hushed tension btwn. the characters that felt right. And while a numbing bleakness hangs over most of the proceedings, the air of hope that's realized in the final scene is much appreciated.