User reviews

The trio of Jake Gyllenhaal, Tobey Macguire and Natalie Portman got me very excited for this film, and from an acting standpoint, they did not disappoint. The script gives Macguire the most to work with as the family man/Marine, Sam Cahill, whose latest trip to Afghanistan sees him imprisoned by the Taliban and ultimately returned to America with some serious psychological issues. While he is MIA, his wife, Grace, (Portman) and ex-con brother, Tommy, (Gyllenhaal) are told he is dead, and the two grow closer, eventually verging on emotional and physical attachment.

Ultimately, the movie is an emotional ringer. Sam returns to a family that wants to love him, but his walls are up, he's been through a lot and its his brother the fun loving Uncle Tommy who Sam's children want to play with. A quick note, Sheridan the director makes great use of the two daughters as comic breaks in otherwise terribly tense situations. Our theater was laughing at the kids and it felt to me, as though we needed that laughter to balance out the gloom. There are a few climaxes, some extremely tense family dinners and finally a final gripping scene where Sam is pushed to the brink, he distrusts his wife, assumes his brother is sleeping with her, and no longer can see the humor in his elementary aged children, can he hold on?

Its a touching film and a sad film, but it probably could have been a bit better. The script and title of the film suggest a big tension or interplay between the brothers. I found the brother relationship lacking in substance, and I thought the ingredients for some serious tension and emotional pain were in place but were never put to use. Sam Shepard does well as the Vietnam Vet father, but all he really does is establish his love for his son, the Marine, and his disdain for his son, the ex-con. There was so much more that he could have done, his role seems intentionally diminished. Portman is great as usual, but arguably miscast, as she doesn't belong cast into a film where she is not supposed to think. She's a thinking woman's actress and here she is left observing, we know she knows, but her character must play it clueless.

I cried, and wanted the story to continue, as there seems to be a bit left to this story when the film fades away. Both signs that the movie was enjoyable and touching. The growth of Gyllenhaal as the ex-con who is on the rise, adjusting to life on the outside and acting as a surrogate father in the absence of Macguire is nicely juxtaposed with Macguire's devolution into post-traumatic stress ridden torment. Watch the Oscar nods roll in, but I think, if anything, the movie may win individual awards, as the product as a whole falls quite a bit short of award winning status.

I see a lot of people really disliked this film but I thought it was pretty decent. I guess it can move a tad slow but the story needs time to develop.

A United States Marine returns home from Afghanistan with PTSD and thinks his Brother is sleeping with his wife and moving in on his family. Then the crap starts to hit the fan.

The acting by the 3 leads in excellent. Jake Gyllenhaal (Tommy) Natalie Portman (Grace) and Toby Maguire (Capt. Sam Cahill) Toby really kills his part....Excellent.

All in all I think this is a very well done Film.

"Brothers" is an American remake of an excellent Danish drama from 2004. As the title suggests, the story centers on two male siblings who are essentially polar opposites of one another. Sam (Tobey Maguire) is an upright family man and lifelong Marine who has already served one tour in Afghanistan and is all set to embark on a second. Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal) is a ne'er-do-well ex-con who's released from prison on the very same week Sam is being re-deployed to the battlefield, leaving a wife (Natalie Portman) and two young daughters (the delightful Bailee Madison and Taylor Grace Geare) behind at home. When news comes that Sam has been killed in a helicopter crash, Tommy is there to help pick up the pieces, leading to some potential romantic complications between him and his brother's grieving widow, Grace. But that turns out to be only half the story, as anyone familiar with the Danish version already knows.

Written by David Benioff and directed by Jim Sheridan, "Brothers" follows the original fairly closely in terms of outline and incident, focusing on one man's attempts to turn his life around after making a mess of things, and another's efforts to come to terms with an action he performed under duress that his conscience will clearly never allow him to live with. The complex relationships among the three principal players - along with Sam's Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - are dealt with in an adult and thoughtful fashion, with a minimum of melodrama and nary a hint of sensationalism. The conflicts are further exacerbated by the men's father (Sam Shepherd), a hardnosed Vietnam vet whose personal preference for Sam over Tommy has been evident to both boys from very early on in their lives.

"Brothers" reveals its European roots in its more deliberate pacing, its emotional complexity, its lack of judgment towards its characters, and its willingness to leave some loose ends hanging at the end. Maguire and Gyllenhaal are both excellent as the two torn brothers trying to stay close despite their differences - as are Portman, Shepherd and Mare Winningham as the boys' loving and conciliatory step mom whose calming influence over her husband goes a long way towards ameliorating some otherwise potentially volatile situations.

Just OK. Very well acted particularly by Gyllenhaal, Portman, and the two young 'uns, and a compelling tale of how war can mess up a family, but a little too melodramatic to hold much power for me.

There's also the misjudged Afghan side story, which is populated by cartoon characters. It might have worked better had we been kept completely in the dark as to the soldier's fate, to be put in the same position as the wife and brother. As it is we are simply sitting waiting for his inevitable (rather than hoped-for) return and we know any emotional investment during this buildup will be wasted. It feels almost tacked on - did they need to give Maguire more to do? He's the best I've ever seen him btw, but I didn't find him as convincing as the other two leads who had a more nuanced story to work with.

What drew me to this movie was the cast of Jake Gyllenhaal and Natalie Portman, two phenomenal actors in their own regards. The only expectation that I had going into see this film was that I would be unimpressed by Tobey Maguire. Having seen him in several films (including Spider-Man), I must say that I wasn't prepared for the incredible performance he provided.

This movie was very simplistic. Nothing flashy, no real special effects, small amounts of simple guitar music as a soundtrack. But it conveyed a whole roller coaster of emotions from the beginning. The growth of Jake Gyllenhaal's character, the anguish displayed by Natalie Portman, the palpable pain and suffering by Tobey Maguire, and the fear and anger displayed by the eight-year-old Bailee Madison all combine for a very gripping tale.

Many regard this movie as anti-war. I simply do not see it as such. Soldiers are praised for their heroism on the battlefield (which they completely deserve), but all too often the wounds they suffer physically and mentally are disregarded. This movie illustrates the very real problem of the mental health of our service men and women, and the problems it causes in family dynamics.

I really don't want to come across as some kind of film snob and that's not what this is about...it's about the original movie being better then the remake. I happened to see the 2009 Danish film by the same name before they came out with this one. But obviously Benioff simply bought the rights to the (excellent) story and made an all-American production. Unfortunately any trace of the original's expert story telling is completely gone from this throw-away movie. Not even Natalie Portman can raise this movie above the mediocre level it is, because it just doesn't work. The acting is mawkish and the story plays out completely unconvincing, having seen the well-made original it all seems like a tedious waste of time. If you've never seen either one but the storyline interests you, please watch the Danish film first (or instead of), the acting, direction, pacing and even the (subtitled) dialogue completely outclasses this mundane remake.

Based on the Danish film, Brødre, Tobey Maguire plays Sam Cahill, a marine who goes off to Afghanistan and allegedly is killed in action. His brother Tommy, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, an ex-con, winds up looking after Sam's wife, Grace (Natalie Portman) and her daughters. As the story moves on, Tommy's negative attitude toward her and his outlook changes and their relationship develops. When Sam, who is found to be alive, returns home, there's a mixture of both joy and resentment among the characters, but to add, Sam has returned a changed and psychologically-damaged man.

The film mainly focuses on the family drama and relationships of the characters, inter-cut with scenes of Sam in action and imprisoned/tortured in Afghanistan. The progression of the plot takes its time to develop, but it feels organic. The characters feel real. While one could see the film as a criticism of war and the negative effects that war has on the family of veterans, the film is more a character-driven drama, and doesn't touch much into politics.

Admittedly, the plot itself isn't anything drastically new and one may imagine a plot like this in a made-for-TV drama if not for the emotional depth, intensity, and solid performances from Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Natalie Portman. One of the interesting plot points involve the brothers' father's (in a fine performance from Sam Shepard) favoritism for Sam, while looking down on Tommy as the "failure." The love/hate dynamics between the three are interesting and believable even as the two brothers go through drastic character changes.

Tobey Maguire's performance is particularly noteworthy as Sam, a marine and a loving husband who comes back transformed into a physically emaciated, psychologically-scarred, ticking time bomb. My image of Tobey as Spider-Man now feels like a distant memory especially in comparison to what he portrays here. The two children who play the two daughters of Sam in this film give very natural performances in their varied reactions to difficult situations around them. Jake Gyllenhaal does strong work as Tommy, whose character transformation makes us want to root for him, despite his shady beginnings and flaws. To top off, Natalie Portman is radiant here, turning in a poignant, complex performance as a mother of two, who must deal with the initial mourning of her husband, the joy of his return, and the messy aftermath. Ultimately, her nuanced performance is the glue that holds the film together and make the other characters matter, and one can't help but marvel at the maturity of her performance.

Directed by Jim Sheridan (The Boxer), this film is a great showcase for all performances involved, while portraying an engaging, intense story about familial loyalty, redemption, and difficult relationships. In the wrong hands, this film could've gone the route of the by-the-numbers Hollywood cliché, but as it is, it remains a solid drama. I give Brothers *** out of **** stars.

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Please watch the original film Brødre (2004) by Susanne Bier instead. It's in Danish with English subtitles. It's more authentic and characters are depicted more in depth. Typically, it's a subtitled gem overlooked by a domestic audience. There was no need for a remake in the first place other than to embrace most of the ignorant American audience. Pardon my french. Most of you will be familiar with Connie Nielsen. However, Ulrich Thomsen is the most important character and does a superb acting in Brødre by changing the nature of his character. You can pick it up on Amazon but make sure to get in a format supported by your DVD-player.

Brothers tells the story of two siblings, thirty-something Captain Sam Cahill (Tobey Maguire) and younger brother Tommy Cahill (Jake Gyllenhaal), who are polar opposites. A Marine about to embark on his fourth tour of duty, Sam is a steadfast family man married to his high school sweetheart, Grace (Natalie Portman), with whom he has two young daughters (Bailee Madison, Taylor Grace Geare). Tommy, his younger brother, is a drifter just out of jail. He slides easily into his role as family provocateur on his first night out of prison, at Sam's farewell dinner with their parents, Elsie (Mare Winningham) and Hank Cahill (Sam Shepard), a retired Marine.Shipped out to Afghanistan, Sam is presumed dead when his Black Hawk helicopter is shot down in the mountains. At home in suburbia, the Cahill family suddenly faces a shocking void, and Tommy tries to fill in for his brother by assuming new found responsibility for himself, Grace, and the children. But Sam is not dead. And when he comes back to American soil he can't let go of the things that happened to him in Afghanistan. On top of that he has suspicions that his wife may have cheated on him with his brother... Oh boy, Brothers was a true disappointment to me. I remember seeing the trailer for the film, a couple of months ago and it seemed like an extremely intense and emotional story, plus my favorite actress, the very talented Natalie Portman? And an angry and deranged Tobey Maguire? I mean, what else can you ask for? This had the makings to be one the best films of the year and a serious Oscar contender. Unfortunately, it's none of that. The premise of the film is great and holds a lot of potential, I'm not denying that, but somehow it got lost in the way. The dialog is very simplistic and the interaction between characters feels very odd or in other words, the script is weak. Natalie Portman was not exactly bad, and at times I was able to see little glimpses of her talent in some of the more dramatic scenes but she has done much ,much better. Jake Gyllenhaal who's a very good actor as well did the best he could but his character was completely under-developed. Tobey Maguire, probably tired of doing all those crap Spiderman films, showed a lot of anger and rage but even in calm situations he looked like a psycho ready to go off at any moment, definitely a good job and probably the best acting he has done in years. And then there's Sam Shepard (Sam's father) who had a small role but made the most of it. I guess the biggest flaw of Brothers is the fact that the film takes too much time to actually get into Sam's return and him having to deal with all the things I mentioned above and that should be the main focus of the film. It's only in the third act that the film starts to get interesting and then, before you know it, it ends...

6/10

Of all the remakes being spawned by Hollywood, Brothers is perhaps the least infuriating on paper: after all, the original Danish film tackled a very American subject, namely war, and told a story that works in pretty much any language. In addition, the US version benefits from a good director (Jim Sheridan, recovering from Get Rich or Die Trying'), a reliable screenwriter (David Benioff) and a solid cast. Not enough to improve on the prototype, but still a solid effort.

The script is basically the original translated in English: Sam Cahill (Tobey Maguire), loving husband and father, is going to Afghanistan on a mission. When he's reported dead (his team disappeared and no bodies were found), his wife Grace (Natalie Portman) and his two daughters receive support from an unlikely source: Sam's younger brother Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal), freshly out of jail and looking for a way to prove himself worthy of the family's trust. Soon, emotions get complicated between him and Grace, a problem that gets even more serious once Sam is revealed to be alive and comes back home.

Benioff's take on Susanne Bier's tale of brotherly love follows the blueprint quite closely, but adds another layer of subtext that makes the picture more American: given the rigorous, almost religious connotations the army, and especially the Marines, can have in the US (see Full Metal Jacket and A Few Good Men), not to mention the tradition of sons taking after their fathers, a different back-story explaining the troubled relationship between the Cahill boys and their veteran father (Sam Shepard) is a welcome modification. Less successful, on the other hand, is Sheridan's decision to give the film a more "cinematic" look, ditching the hand-held style that made the Danish counterpart more realistically affecting. Granted, it would have looked like a shot-for-shot remake, but the subject's poignancy suffers as a result.

Another problem, perhaps even more serious, is the age of the three stars: being between ten and fifteen years younger than their Danish equivalents, Maguire, Portman and Gyllenhaal deliver solid, compelling performances (Maguire in particular is miles away from Spider-Man's blockbuster territory), but almost always look too young to convince as a family torn apart by war (and frankly, it's hard to buy Sam and Grace as parents of two seven-year old girls). Amusingly, this is referenced in the screenplay, when Sam, sensing that things have changed, describes his wife and brother as "two teenagers in love" (in fairness, though, that line, like much of the dialogue, is taken verbatim from the original).

In short, Brothers is a worthy showcase of its cast's acting talents (alongside the leads, Carey Mulligan does wonders with what is basically a throwaway cameo) and a reasonably strong reflection on the consequences of war, but it pales next to the superior European version.

Brothers is a decent movie showing the trauma both a soldier and his family face due to Tobey Maguire's "job" as a marine. Although the script could have been improved and more drama could have been added throughout the movie, the actors in Brothers deliver superbly.

Tobey Maguire is rumored to be mentioned at the Oscars and his performance probably deserves it, especially during his "break down" scene. Natalie Portman as the wife and Sam Shepard acting as the father also deliver plausible and emotional performances. Carey Mulligain, who I almost did not recognise, plays a cameo role and Clifton Collins Jnr also makes a brief appearance.

If you haven't watched the trailer for this film, do not watch it as it gives much away. Also, do not read about this movie much before you watch it either. The less you know about Brothers, the better its plot will unfold.

I also must point out that although Tobey Maguire is the one with the Golden Globe nomination and rumoured Oscar nomination, Jake Gyllenhaal delivers a much more subtle, and on the whole, a better performance than Tobey. He seemed to connect me more to his character with some comedic lines, gentle eyes and genuine acts of redemption. I rate Brothers one star higher because of Jake and if it were up to me, he'd get a supporting actor nomination.

Don't expect a masterpiece like The Deer Hunter, but if you're looking for some new, depressive entertainment, then Brothers is a good flick...It had potential and it delivered on most of it; however, some potential was also left unaccounted for.

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, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman and Tobey Maguire, is an interesting and profound drama about family values, war, and relationships. The acting is fantastic. I had hardly heard of this movie despite its all star cast so it was a pleasant surprise for me.

As the title implies, it is about two brothers, portrayed by Gyllenhaal and Maguire, whose lives have taken them to different sides of the tracks- Jake's character has recently been released from jail and Tobey is a devoted family and army man. Natalie Portman plays his lovely wife. When Tobey is sent away to Afghanistan and rapidly presumed dead, the plot thickens.

Back at home, with everybody trying to cope and go on with their lives, nothing will ever be the same. I will not write any more on the subject because although I found what happens next very predictable, you should still guess for yourselves.

The entire cast plays superbly. Tobey undergoes a massive physical transformation and looks completely emaciated as he depicts the mental decline of someone who has lived through too much horror. He shows us the mental destruction caused by war and his metamorphosis is truly scary at times. Jake is really excellent as his sincere brother, torn between passion and brotherly love, guilt and devotion. The two young girls who play Tobey and Natalie's daughters were very impressive and are earning lots of praise.

The supporting characters are less developed and the father seems to have just two states of emotion- praise and admiration for his army son and disdain for the ex-convict. This is the downside that I saw in Brothers- that it tended to oversimplify many issues and too often contented itself with merely scratching the surface. For instance, though I have never been in a war so I cannot say for sure, the Taliban scenes seemed fake to me.

Loyalty, love, faithfulness, duty, pain, grief, sorrow, joy. All of these are present in this well above average but not outstanding film.

My rating: 8 Fabio's: 7.5 Total score: 15.5 Please read more reviews at http://paulinasmovies.blogspot.com

Two brothers, one returning from prison, one heading as a Marine to Afghanistan.

This film is apparently a remake of a Danish film that had the same story line.

But it didn't have Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal! Maguire reaches into the darkest corners of his soul to flesh out the good brother, the Marine, who returns from Afghanistan with a staggering burden of guilt.

Gyllenhaal is amazing, transforming an angry, unsure ex-con into a believable figure of redemption, slowly growing before our eyes as the story unfolds.

Natalie Portman is excellent and look for Carey Mulligan's four minutes of screen time.

This is not an anti-war film except in the sense that any film that shows war either glorifies it unrealistically or jars us into questioning, if it is realistic. The scenes in Afghanistan seem authentic. The tortures are not so so graphic as some of the other reviews imply. They will cause you to wince, but its good film making, not microscopic detail.

I want to search out Susanne Bier's 2005 film "Broedre"--it can't lessen the impact of this one, however.

I'm a big fan of Jim Sheridan films, and this had a superb cast so expectations were high for this movie. Unfortunately for me, it never got going and some of that has to be attributed to casting. Tobey Maguire still looks like a 14 year old weakling so I couldn't see him as this veteran marine captain. Similarly, Jake Gylenhall is too much of a nice guy to play a convicted felon, maybe he wasn't meant to "threaten" here but was too nice in the role for me.

A movie like this is all about empathy but there wasn't enough character development or plot scenarios to get me that interested in the characters, it was only in the last 35 minutes that Sam started to lose the plot but the high drama I was expecting just didn't materialize and in the end I was pleased the film ended when it did and it didn't meander on some more. Sure the effect of PTSD is a challenging topic to cover but with the cast and resources at the director's disposal, this goes down as a big disappointment for me.

Jim Sheridan has been nearly consistent in his career. Ripping through the screen in 1989 with the Academy Award Nominated, My Left Foot, where Sheridan proved he was a force to be reckoned with. He's also hit some other great accolades along the way with The Field, In the Name of the Father, and In America, his most personal portrait of his career. The subject of the war in Iraq and Afghanistan has been fresh on filmmaker's minds as of late. Most films have focused on the war itself, and what the toll of bloodshed can have on our soldiers in combat. What Sheridan's newest film Brothers attempts to share with its audience is the psychological pain of a soldier thrust back into home life and toll it takes on the family.

Brothers tells the story of Sam (Tobey Maguire), a Captain for the Marines who goes on a tour in Afghanistan and is captured by Al-Qaeda along with a fellow soldier and is tortured and hounded for intelligence. Presumed dead, his wife Grace (Natalie Portman) is mourning his loss while trying to raise his two daughters. His brother Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal) has just been released from jail and trying to adjust to life outside prison and facing constant ridicule from his alcoholic father (Sam Shepard). When Sam is pronounced dead, Tommy's paternal instinct kicks in and plays the family role in helping Grace take care of the girls. As months pass, Grace and Tommy's once rocky relationship goes a different route. But all changes when Sam is rescued and brought back home.

Writer David Benioff adapts the film well but misses the mark with cheesy dialogue and not enough bridges between characters. Sheridan fills the film with tension and silence which make Thomas Newman's score nearly non-existent. The film doesn't make anything new with its cinematography or film pacing. Sheridan seems half-fast in his execution and doesn't measure up to his previous works.

The performances are hit and miss in terms of the casts deliveries but overall make for a passable ensemble performance. Natalie Portman, the Oscar nominated actress of Closer, takes on her most mature role of her career. Playing a mother of two with Portman's age 28 is a stretch when looking at the petite and youthful actress. Portman takes on her transformation with poise and charisma. Jake Gyllenhaal, our young "Jack Twist" from his Oscar nominated Brokeback Mountain, has been a talent to watch for years now. As "Tommy," Gyllenhaal brings a hard yet tender performance not seen before by him. He doesn't command "Tommy" like I had hoped, but Gyllenhaal is an outstanding talent with much promise to win his own Oscar someday. Veteran actor Sam Shepard, who was once nominated by the Academy for The Right Stuff, does an impeccable job as Hank, an ex-marine with a drinking problem, who makes evident preferences of children. It's great to see an actor of Shepard's caliber still giving great work. Mare Winningham, Patrick Flueger, Taylor Geare, and especially Bailee Madison, all contribute beautifully to an outstanding cast.

In the end, it's Tobey Maguire who gives his best performance to date. As "Capt. Sam Kahill," Maguire has finally showed up his once promising acting chops in his earlier part of his career. Maguire's "Sam" is once a devoted father and husband with much love for his younger brother "Tommy." After his painful capture and lucky return to civilization, there is something different about Sam. His entire post-traumatic war syndrome is manifested in his constant concern of whether or not his brother and his wife slept together during his absence. Maguire is wrapped in Sam like a quilted blanket, desperately trying to release the anguish of his pain. Maguire's approach to the character is different then initially interpreted. He brings it to a whole new level, something excruciating and dying to be set free from.

It's Maguire's performance that stands out as the only worthy part of the film in need of citation. He would have faired better however, in the supporting category. The three main characters are all co-leads which make it tricky to campaign them but if he's Lead then all of them should be and vice-versa. Brothers doesn't measure up to some of the Iraqi-war films we've seen succeed as of late.

**½/****