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Good story, Not enough for a whole film

Fresh and Exciting

How wonderful it is to see this fine actress carry a film and carry it so beautifully.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Marine Capt. Sam Cahill (Tobey Maguire) is going to Afganistan on another tour leaving behind his wife Grace (Natalie Portman) and their two young daughters. He picks up his brother Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal) getting out of prison after serving his time for armed robbery. The family gathers for a dinner before Sam leaves. Tommy fights with their military father Hank (Sam Shepard). The family is stunned when Sam is reported killed in a helicopter crash. In reality, he's been captured by the Taliban along with Private Joe Willis. At home, Tommy cleans up his act while getting closer to Grace. Captivity turns horrific and when Sam is rescued, he returns home psychologically damaged.This cast is stacked and they all bring it. Director Jim Sheridan is able to nurture some amazing work especially from Tobey Maguire. Portman, Gyllenhaal, Shepard, and even little Bailee Madison show their acting muscles. The story does feel a little melodramatic like a broad Greek tragedy. That's par for the course. This is big time acting.

OK, but not great. Most of the movie is fairly slow moving, overly simplistic, and seems to go nowhere. However, it redeems itself with its ending: very moving and profound.Plot is OK, but direction is fairly unimaginative. Performances are OK on the whole. Natalie Portman and Jake Gyllenhaal do well and the little girls shine. However, Tobey Maguire seems miscast - not for the emotional depth he brings (that was spot-on) but as a Marine captain. He just didn't seem right for that role.I was expecting more from this, so a disappointing movie, for me.

Brothers is a very well-crafted and supremely acted movie starring a powerhouse cast comprising Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal and Natalie Portman. Brothers is one of those movies that is thoroughly engaging from first shot to last and is able to exude this constant enchanting aura that gives weighted emotion to every one of its scenes. Its story isn't exactly original, a point that I will return to in a few moments, but is memorable due to the careful and precise direction, the pleasantly intense background score that captures the depth of every scene, and most of all, the acting by the entire cast, especially Tobey Maguire. Tobey Maguire plays his role with absolute and terrifying dedication, for his performance was very intense and heartfelt. He perfectly depicts the ways in which war can and does change the lives of the soldiers it harbours and the extent to which such strains can lead family life astray. And exactly where Tobey was very expressive and full blown, the always reliable Jake Gyllenhaal gives a more subtle performance with equal fervour and impact. Natalie Portman holds her own fort and is able to evict true emotion and feeling in the viewer. The two little girls in the film are surprisingly very good, so much so that they nearly manage to steal some scenes from their elder, more qualified counterparts. Having spoken about the acting, it's time to talk about Jim Sheridan's direction. Sheridan's direction is reserved and confident, and expertly brings to life the events on screen. Each scene is well thought out and shown with the maximum attention to detail. A dinner scene in the third half of the movie is astounding in it's craft, with every little manoeuvre and expression captivatingly unveiled, with the whole act being thoroughly dramatic and power-packed. This really is potent direction that is worthy of much praise. Some people deride the movie citing it as too melodramatic, and still others consider it generic Hollywood fare about how war affects people's lives. I believe this is hypocritical in nature, because this is rather unwarranted. Firstly, about this supposedly being melodramatic, I would like to point out that the movie was very reserved in its depiction of pain and suffering in most parts, while only reaching it's dramatic crescendo in the final ten minutes, which was very much necessary, especially considering how well acted the scenes in question were, and hence dismissing the entire movie as melodrama is unfair. And about it being a very generic tale about war, makes me wonder what this movie could have done differently to have not been 'generic'. Were it to focus more on the War itself, it would have been termed as pointless action with no dramatic heft, and since it does focus on the psychological effects of war, it is considered generic with striking comparisons with the 1978 classic 'The deer hunter'. This nature of belittling a movie released years after another, dealing with a 'similar' concept and theme, which in fact, is very much grounded in its own reality and carves its own character arcs, is once again unfair. Finally, I would like to say that Brothers is very strong, heartfelt entertainment that has been overlooked for some of the reasons stated and rebuttled above. The greatest strength of this movie is the acting it features and is truly an underrated gem.

Sorry, but I'm not buying Tobey McGuire as an ex high school football star or a current Marine leader. He just doesn't look like the type. Having said that, he did a great job of portraying a man in shock.Even more so, I'm not buying a 90 pound Israeli American girl who looks like a teenager, as a late 20's New Mexico mom and ex-cheerleader. Having said that, Natalie Portman did a terrific job of showing patience and sensitivity to the travails of the men in her life.Jake G. has such an expressive and sensitive face, that you just have to love him. I did buy him in his role. Not because he's lovable, but because he looked like a guy with a dark side and redeeming qualities.I am quite sensitive to Liberal Hollywood portrayals of the military. But I don't think this was really an anti-military or anti-war movie. The dad came back from Vietnam messed up, but he was still a proud Marine. The son in the Marines was depicted as an honorable winner.There is a scene around a birthday table that built tension gradually. It was the best scene in a film that had several other scenes with tension-builders.This is a downer picture. But if you're the type who appreciates good dialog and acting, and doesn't need a fancy setting or lots of action, then you should appreciate this one for what it is. Nice use of mood music as well.