Brothers is a war movie, but thankfully it eschews any political standpoint. Like Coming Home, it is a study of the corrosive effects of war that linger in the lives of those that experience atrocities in the name of their countries.
Tobey Maguire is a good actor, but I've always associated him with lightweight roles. I don't think many could have predicted the kind of intense performance that he gives in Brothers.
Maguire plays Sam Cahill, a Marine Captain with a pretty wife and two adorable daughters. Jake Gyllenhaal is his black sheep brother, fresh out of jail. When Cahill is deployed to Afghanistan, his brother helps the family. There's a helicopter crash in which Maguire is reportedly killed in. His brother becomes closer to the wife and daughters and they even begin a hesitant romance.
But Cahill is not dead. He is captured by the Taliban and imprisoned in a boarded up hole in the ground, with one of his men. Their captors attempt force them to speak and take part in acts of propaganda for their cause and Cahill has no choice but to commit an unspeakable deed. These scenes are harrowing, but not particularly graphic.
Cahill is rescued and returns to his home, but he finds that he cannot fit back into the fabric of society or his home. Anxious, paranoid, and always on the brink of violence, he frightens his daughters and obsesses on what went on between his wife and his brother in his absence.
This is a fantastic movie, which was remade from a Danish movie called Brødre. I haven't seen the original, so I can't judge Brothers in comparison.
Brothers is a movie that relies on strong performance and everyone in it is awesome. Natalie Portman, successfully transforming from a gifted child actress to a full-grown adult, is a excellent, as is Gyllenhaal. But the big, big standout is Tobey Maguire as Captain Sam Cahill. With Brothers he has proven himself to be one of the dynamic actors working today.
Many of today's viewers will probably be disappointed in the lack of explosive violence in the outcome of Brothers. It's simply not that type of movie. Brothers deals in emotion, which for some of us can be more effective than hours of car crashes, blood, and gunplay.
Perhaps the most moving part of seeing Brothers wasn't even on the screen. I saw the movie on Christmas morning and there were few people in the theater. At the dramatic end of Brothers, a young woman employee of the theater was standing in the aisle that led into the auditorium, watching the movie and crying her eyes out. It's very possible that she has had similar experiences in her own life. After all, I live in a military town.
Tobey Maguire is a good actor, but I've always associated him with lightweight roles. I don't think many could have predicted the kind of intense performance that he gives in Brothers.
Maguire plays Sam Cahill, a Marine Captain with a pretty wife and two adorable daughters. Jake Gyllenhaal is his black sheep brother, fresh out of jail. When Cahill is deployed to Afghanistan, his brother helps the family. There's a helicopter crash in which Maguire is reportedly killed in. His brother becomes closer to the wife and daughters and they even begin a hesitant romance.But Cahill is not dead. He is captured by the Taliban and imprisoned in a boarded up hole in the ground, with one of his men. Their captors attempt force them to speak and take part in acts of propaganda for their cause and Cahill has no choice but to commit an unspeakable deed. These scenes are harrowing, but not particularly graphic.
Cahill is rescued and returns to his home, but he finds that he cannot fit back into the fabric of society or his home. Anxious, paranoid, and always on the brink of violence, he frightens his daughters and obsesses on what went on between his wife and his brother in his absence.
This is a fantastic movie, which was remade from a Danish movie called Brødre. I haven't seen the original, so I can't judge Brothers in comparison.
Brothers is a movie that relies on strong performance and everyone in it is awesome. Natalie Portman, successfully transforming from a gifted child actress to a full-grown adult, is a excellent, as is Gyllenhaal. But the big, big standout is Tobey Maguire as Captain Sam Cahill. With Brothers he has proven himself to be one of the dynamic actors working today.
Many of today's viewers will probably be disappointed in the lack of explosive violence in the outcome of Brothers. It's simply not that type of movie. Brothers deals in emotion, which for some of us can be more effective than hours of car crashes, blood, and gunplay.
Perhaps the most moving part of seeing Brothers wasn't even on the screen. I saw the movie on Christmas morning and there were few people in the theater. At the dramatic end of Brothers, a young woman employee of the theater was standing in the aisle that led into the auditorium, watching the movie and crying her eyes out. It's very possible that she has had similar experiences in her own life. After all, I live in a military town.
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