So the whole love affair between the other brother and the wife is not something we haven’t seen before. Its a theme that movies like to use when they can; its easy drama. It takes no effort to write conflict from that. But when we see Tobey Maguire go nuts, start to bust glass and fire a gun in the air, the whole tone completely changed. Who doesn’t want to go see how this unfortunate series of events turns out? But if you’re going in expecting a straight forward mistaken death story, think again. The plot of Brothers will throw you a curve ball you’ll never see coming.
Hank Cahill (Shepard) had two sons; the oldest, Sam (Maguire), is happily married, a marine, and a father. The younger brother, Tommy (Gyllenhaal), is a convicted felon and the black sheep of the family. Sam Cahill is called to duty and must leave his family to serve in Afghanistan. He is gone for a few weeks, and then his wife Grace (Portman) gets word that his helicopter was shot down and that he is presumed dead. She is grief stricken, and Tommy steps up to try and help take care of his brother’s family. Tommy and Grace become very close over the next few months. However, Sam is not dead. He’s been taken capture by militants. Upon his release, he is sent back to to a shocked family, but he is not quite the same. Paranoia encompasses Sam Cahill and he starts to ask the question: just what is the extent of Tommy and Grace’s relationship?
The title of this film bothered me, in that though the story includes a set of brothers, its not really about that relationship between the brothers. The plot actually follows the changing dynamic between the relationships of the three main characters; Sam, Grace, and Tommy. Before the deployment, Tommy is close to Grace, and attempts to restrain his brother’s behavior. While Sam is believed dead, Tommy cleans up and finds hope in a family he never had. Grace hated Tommy for his actions, but as he helps out they develope a friendship. When Sam returns, there is a huge gap between his wife and himself. And now it is Tommy that is trying to restrain Sam.
The whole shifting of roles back and forth is what really drives this story and keeps the interest. In fact, Maguire and Gyllenhaal have very little screen time together. How can a movie be about the relationship between brothers when they’re minimally interactive in the plot? The film struggles with a case of mistaken identity all the way through. Brothers is a story about what war trauma can do to the mind of a soldier and how it effects his life stateside. I even thought that Maguire would be absent from the entire middle of the film, but in fact, we see his entire story on the ground in Afghanistan, too. If you think this film is about a wife caught between two brother, you’re horribly mistaken. Its much deeper, much darker, and much more intriguing than simply that.
The high point of the film is no doubt the acting. Watching Jake Gyllenhaal act is always a treat, but there’s nothing special here since his screen time is minimal. Natalie Portman is a powerhouse, and always has been. Don’t let the Star Wars prequels fool you; look at her work in Closer and V for Vendetta. If she would take on more roles like her role in Brothers, you’d see more critics ‘critically acclaiming’ her. Even the older daughter played by Bailee Madison was incredible. Little Bailee is likely to be the next Dakota Fanning. Kid was that good. But above all the stand out is Tobey Maguire. He’s always played mellow characters as far back as I can remember. The character of Sam Cahill is two fold; one one hand, he’s an upstanding citizen, solider, and son; on the other, he’s a deranged, confused, and violent veteran. This is likely the performance of his career; so far.
Brothers is a film that doesn’t quite know what its really about, but it speaks volumes when it gets down to what it wants to say. Better work could have been done on the script to make it flow better and to develop the relationship between Sam and Tommy to make the title make sense. But don’t go see Brothers for the story; go see it for the performances. In that regard, it is stellar. Definitely worth the price of a ticket; just be prepared to be both SHOCKED, and AWED.
Tobey Maguire is CRAZY.
No really. Tobey Maguire is nuts...
Brothers
starring Tobey Maguire, Natalie Portman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Clifton Collins Jr., Bailee Madison, Sam Shepard, Ethan Suplee
directed by Jim Sheridan
So the whole love affair between the other brother and the wife is not something we haven’t seen before. Its a theme that movies like to use when they can; its easy drama. It takes no effort to write conflict from that. But when we see Tobey Maguire go nuts, start to bust glass and fire a gun in the air, the whole tone completely changed. Who doesn’t want to go see how this unfortunate series of events turns out? But if you’re going in expecting a straight forward mistaken death story, think again. The plot of Brothers will throw you a curve ball you’ll never see coming.
Hank Cahill (Shepard) had two sons; the oldest, Sam (Maguire), is happily married, a marine, and a father. The younger brother, Tommy (Gyllenhaal), is a convicted felon and the black sheep of the family. Sam Cahill is called to duty and must leave his family to serve in Afghanistan. He is gone for a few weeks, and then his wife Grace (Portman) gets word that his helicopter was shot down and that he is presumed dead. She is grief stricken, and Tommy steps up to try and help take care of his brother’s family. Tommy and Grace become very close over the next few months. However, Sam is not dead. He’s been taken capture by militants. Upon his release, he is sent back to to a shocked family, but he is not quite the same. Paranoia encompasses Sam Cahill and he starts to ask the question: just what is the extent of Tommy and Grace’s relationship?
The title of this film bothered me, in that though the story includes a set of brothers, its not really about that relationship between the brothers. The plot actually follows the changing dynamic between the relationships of the three main characters; Sam, Grace, and Tommy. Before the deployment, Tommy is close to Grace, and attempts to restrain his brother’s behavior. While Sam is believed dead, Tommy cleans up and finds hope in a family he never had. Grace hated Tommy for his actions, but as he helps out they develope a friendship. When Sam returns, there is a huge gap between his wife and himself. And now it is Tommy that is trying to restrain Sam.
The whole shifting of roles back and forth is what really drives this story and keeps the interest. In fact, Maguire and Gyllenhaal have very little screen time together. How can a movie be about the relationship between brothers when they’re minimally interactive in the plot? The film struggles with a case of mistaken identity all the way through. Brothers is a story about what war trauma can do to the mind of a soldier and how it effects his life stateside. I even thought that Maguire would be absent from the entire middle of the film, but in fact, we see his entire story on the ground in Afghanistan, too. If you think this film is about a wife caught between two brother, you’re horribly mistaken. Its much deeper, much darker, and much more intriguing than simply that.
The high point of the film is no doubt the acting. Watching Jake Gyllenhaal act is always a treat, but there’s nothing special here since his screen time is minimal. Natalie Portman is a powerhouse, and always has been. Don’t let the Star Wars prequels fool you; look at her work in Closer and V for Vendetta. If she would take on more roles like her role in Brothers, you’d see more critics ‘critically acclaiming’ her. Even the older daughter played by Bailee Madison was incredible. Little Bailee is likely to be the next Dakota Fanning. Kid was that good. But above all the stand out is Tobey Maguire. He’s always played mellow characters as far back as I can remember. The character of Sam Cahill is two fold; one one hand, he’s an upstanding citizen, solider, and son; on the other, he’s a deranged, confused, and violent veteran. This is likely the performance of his career; so far.
Brothers is a film that doesn’t quite know what its really about, but it speaks volumes when it gets down to what it wants to say. Better work could have been done on the script to make it flow better and to develop the relationship between Sam and Tommy to make the title make sense. But don’t go see Brothers for the story; go see it for the performances. In that regard, it is stellar. Definitely worth the price of a ticket; just be prepared to be both SHOCKED, and AWED.
Yeah, I said it.