Brothers

Brothers (2009)
Directed by Jim Sheridan
Starring Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman, Sam Shepard

The story of the Prodigal son; a good film, dramatic, a remake that is good but not as taught as the original Danish film. Two diametrically opposed brothers, one a Marine and one a Drop-out fresh out of the slammer are at the center of this story. The young Marine goes off to Afghanistan and goes missing in action, presumed dead, the family have a funeral etc. The drop out brother (gyllenhall) helps out his grieving sister in a law, nurturing her kids, building her a new kitchen to try and win the respect of his father who has always seen him as 2nd best to his younger brother.

The story gets interesting when the brother and the wife get closer, they share a common loss, they are both empty and struggling to come to terms with the death. They like each other after years of misunderstanding. The daughters take a shine to their uncle, who is less strict and more fun than uptight military dad.

The story of Maguire is given a real twist when it's revealed that he is not dead but actually taken as a POW. While a prisoner he is forced to kill one of his own men in a nasty scene, its kill or be killed and so he beats him to death with a pipe, going against all he believes as a soldier and a man - this changes him forever. Soon after he is rescued by an invading platoon of US soldiers and returned to the US and to his stunned and surprised family. He is a different man, the trauma has damaged him for the worse, he is dark and intense. The kids prefer their uncle. Maguire builds to an explosion in his own house, a gun weilding nervous breakdown spawned by his suspiscion of his brother and wife.

It builds to an intense climax, one that we see coming all along but it still delivers. This is Maguire's best acting in years (aside from his cameo in Tropic Thunder). Portman is excellent as usual and Sam Shepard plays the old fashioned dad to a tee. Very enjoyable film, great performances, Maguire is fantastic, worth seeing for his performance alone.

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