The family man Marine Captain Sam Cahil (Tobey Maguire) is happily married with his beloved Grace (Natalie Portman) and adores his two daughters Isabelle (Bailee Madison) and Maggie (Taylor Geare). His younger brother Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal) has just left prison on probation for bank robbery and has issues with his father Hank (Sam Shepard). Grace does not like him either but Sam invites Tommy to have dinner at home with their family. When Sam is sent back to Afghanistan, his helicopter crashes and he is considered missing in action and presumed dead. However, he is captured with friend Private Joe Willis (Patrick Flueger) and they are submitted to all sort of tortures, culminating with Sam killing Joe with a bar. Meanwhile Tommy comforts Grace and the children and he becomes close to Sam's family. When Sam is rescued by the American soldiers, he comes back home completely paranoid, psychotic, introspective and without feeling or affection for his family. Further, he is convinced that Grace and Tommy have had sex during his absence. When Isabelle lies during a family dinner about the relationship of Grace and Tommy to upset her father, the disturbed Sam triggers an intense paranoia jeopardizing his family, Tommy and himself.
"Brothers" is a powerful drama about family dynamics destroyed by war. I discover that this good movie is based on Susanne Bier's "Brødre" that I have not seen yet. Jim Sheridan shows again his ability to work with children, the same way he did in "In America" and the girls Bailee Madison and Taylor Geare have awesome performances. Tobey Maguire, Natalie Portman, Jake Gyllenhaal and Sam Shepard have top-notch performances, giving credibility to the story. Now I expect to see the original Danish movie to compare with the American version. My vote is eight.
Title (Brazil): "Entre Irmãos" ("Between Brothers")
Revised review after watching "Brødre":
"Brothers" is actually a teen remake of "Brødre". Tobey Maguire is completely miscast in the role of a marine captain despite his great performance. In the original movie, Ulrich Thomsen is a mature man with face of man in the role of a major, and not a "babyface" in the role of a captain. Jim Sheridan filmed practically frame by frame the film of Susanne Bier, but replacing adult and realistic situations with shallow trivializations to adequate the story to the American society. In his version, just as an example, Grace and Tommy smoke marijuana when they kiss each other instead of the emotional situation of the original story. Or the motive why Sam is forced by his captors to kill Joe Willis in the Afghan camp. The open conclusion in the original movie is another plus. The impact of "Brothers" is totally different for those that have not seen "Brødre" My vote is six.
"Brothers" is a powerful drama about family dynamics destroyed by war. I discover that this good movie is based on Susanne Bier's "Brødre" that I have not seen yet. Jim Sheridan shows again his ability to work with children, the same way he did in "In America" and the girls Bailee Madison and Taylor Geare have awesome performances. Tobey Maguire, Natalie Portman, Jake Gyllenhaal and Sam Shepard have top-notch performances, giving credibility to the story. Now I expect to see the original Danish movie to compare with the American version. My vote is eight.
Title (Brazil): "Entre Irmãos" ("Between Brothers")
Revised review after watching "Brødre":
"Brothers" is actually a teen remake of "Brødre". Tobey Maguire is completely miscast in the role of a marine captain despite his great performance. In the original movie, Ulrich Thomsen is a mature man with face of man in the role of a major, and not a "babyface" in the role of a captain. Jim Sheridan filmed practically frame by frame the film of Susanne Bier, but replacing adult and realistic situations with shallow trivializations to adequate the story to the American society. In his version, just as an example, Grace and Tommy smoke marijuana when they kiss each other instead of the emotional situation of the original story. Or the motive why Sam is forced by his captors to kill Joe Willis in the Afghan camp. The open conclusion in the original movie is another plus. The impact of "Brothers" is totally different for those that have not seen "Brødre" My vote is six.