Director Jim Sheridan is responsible for some very memorable work including In the Name of the Father, My Left Foot, In America and Get Rich or Die Tryin'. His latest work Brothers, brings together a stellar cast that includes Tobey Maguire, Natalie Portman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Clifton Collins Jr., Sam Shepard and outstanding newcomer Carey Mulligan. Brothers is a story Sam Cahill (Maguire) who is sent off to war in Afghanistan in 2007, leaving behind his wife Grace (Portman) and two daughters Isabelle (Bailee Madison) and Maggie (Taylor Geare). At the same time, shamed younger brother Tommy (Gyllenhaal) is released from prison after serving a sentence for robbery.
Sam's fighter plane crashes in Afghanistan, and Grace is informed of his death. She is left to pick up the pieces on her own, developing a relationship with Tommy in Sam's absence. There are a few running story lines in Brothers including that of Sam and Tommy's budding relationship and his playing a father figure to the two daughters. We also learn that Sam survived the mentioned plane crash, although he is held captive with a colleague, who he is forced to murder in the name of his own survival. Although it starts and never really takes off anywhere, there is also the story line of Tommy and his father Hank (Shepard) feuding. Hank makes it no mystery that he is ashamed of Tommy, constantly comparing him to his failures to Sam's accomplishments.
Sam returns unexpectedly however, completely shaken after his experience at war. Think Pearl Harbour, but less budget and even more drama. Everything spirals downwards from here as he begins to show signs of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder/Shell Shock. This is where Maguire truly shines in this role, crossing over the dark side after having remained reserved for much of the movie. He observes the changed dynamic between his brother and his wife, accusing them both of having an affair. His daughters become terrified in his presence and he also has to face the wife Cassie (Mulligan) and child of the colleague he murdered. Everything culminates in a feverish boiling point where we are unsure if the story will end in tragedy or if there is at all any hope of redemption.
There are some really excellent performances all around and Portman in particular, is excellent as the unconditionally loving wife. At the age of ten also, Madison puts on a very seasoned performance and she definitely is one to watch. The normally excellent Gyllenhaal isn't given much of an opportunity to show his range here unfortunately and this a problem with David Menioff's script.
Brothers perhaps goes out of its way to throw us for a loop and admittedly this is a bit frustrating: it's clear that Grace and Tommy don't have an affair, yet suddenly it is implied that they did have an affair for the sake of advancing the plot. Perhaps Menioff could've left a bit more to the imagination to make Sam's return less expected because we never really get a sense of his absence, which is needed for us to understand the true impact of his return on his family's lives. I did enjoy this film, but overall it could have taken a few more risks to complicate the struggles its characters faced. Lionsgate Films' Brothers is now available in wide release. Grade: B.
I understand what you're saying about Sam's maintained presence in the film throughout his abduction. But that only enhanced the film for me because by showing Sam's struggle, the viewer is really engaged in his fight to get back home. By the time the U2 song came on in the end, I was practically speechless.
ReplyDeleteHey there,
ReplyDeleteThanks for the thoughtful insight. Maybe that's what part of the problem was for me, I didn't feel enough of a fight on Sam's part to truly feel the impact of how much pain he went through in the latter part. The transition from the scene with the metal bar to his rescue to his return was too sudden for me... I really did enjoy Maguire's performance. Definitely one of his best.