Filmmakers are finally starting to produce the films that make brave comments about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and while ‘Green Zone’ and ‘The Hurt Locker’ concentrate on events abroad ‘Brothers’ is a snap-shot of the effect war can have on not only the individual but also the family unit around them. The good thing is it does it in a brilliant way.
It is the day before Capt. Sam Cahill (Tobey Maguire – ‘Beyond All Boundaries’, ‘Spiderman 3’) is sent to do a tour of duty in Afghanistan, and instead of being able to spend time with his wife, Grace (Natalie Portman – ‘Love And Other Impossiable Pursuits’, ‘New York, I Love You’) and daughters, Isabelle (Bailee Madison – TV’S ‘Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles’ & ‘Merry Christmas, Drake & Josh’) and Maggie (Taylor Geare – TV’S ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ & ‘Flashforward’) he has to pick up his brother, Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal – ‘Rendition’, ‘Zodiac’) from prison where he has just served time for armed robbery. To Sam’s dismay though his family don’t accept Tommy back with open arms. His father, Hank (Sam Shepard – ‘Felon’, ‘The Accidental Husband’) is disappointed in Tommy and Grace disapproves of him being around the kids. Sam knows it will be even tougher while he is away.
It’s virtually impossible to fault ‘Brothers’ as a film. The script sets-up the characters in such a way that you do feel for them, a real feat considering the crime that Tommy has committed. Likewise director, Jim Sheridan (‘Get Rich Or Die Tryin’, ‘In America’) does a great job creating powerful scenes that really stick with the audience and never allows it to become soapie. Much of the film is gritty and in-your-face and consist of some major twists that are guaranteed to stun.
Also rising to the occasion are Tobey Maguire and Jake Gylenhaal. These are testing roles and both actors pull them off with performances that are deserved of major awards. While this kind of performance is now expected of Gylenhaal it is a big step-up for Maguire who shows he is capable of much more than just being Spiderman. Natalie Portman also reminds the audience how good she can be when she’s at her best… in fact the cast is like the film, there are just no weak links.
‘Brothers’ is a surprisingly good film with a strong social comment. It certainly does justice to the original film it is based on and is likely to stick with the audience for some time to come. A truly brilliant film!
Year: 2009
Director: Jim Sheridan
Stars: PTobey Maguire, Natalie Portman, Bailee Madison, Taylor Geare, Jake Gyllenhaal, Sam Shepard
Classification: M
Runtime: 105 mins
Rating: 