Brothers

Brothers

Synopsis

“Brothers” tells the powerful 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, with whom he has two young daughters. Tommy, his charismatic younger brother, is a drifter just out of jail who’s always gotten by on wit and charm. 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 newfound responsibility for himself, Grace, and the children.

Official Site: www.brothersfilm.com

Singapore Release Date: 21st January 2010, Thursday

Running Time: 104 minutes

Ratings: G

Genre: Drama | Thriller | War

Cast: Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman, Sam Shepard, Clifton Collins, Jr., Mare Winningham

Crew: Director (Jim Sheridan), Producer (Michael DeLuca, Joni Sighvatsson, Ryan Kavanaugh), Writers (David Benioff), Music (Thomas Newman), Cinematography (Frederick Elmes) and Editing (Jay Cassidy)

The Trailer

The Review

Part drama, part contemporary American war movie, the film shows the heroic feats of the US military war efforts in the Middle East.

It never ends does it, the war and the pretext for peace.

Set aside my thoughts of conspiracy theory, Brothers deals with the trauma of soldiers coming back from war, and how it affects everyone.

The difficult reintegration back into society, especially harder for Sam (played by Tobey Maguire) whose harrowing experience in Afghanistan are far from over.

Sam now back home, has to deal with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) behavior.

While Jake Gyllenhaal was excellent in his role as the care-free younger brother, the character remarkably transformed when it comes to the crunch.

Lastly I can never find fault Natalie Portman in all her films, the young lass who plays the wife, showed a range of emotions. Not too bad either that she’s an eye-candy!

Overall excellent acting all-around, but it could tidy up on the script. Some sub-plots were just redundant.

The Good

• Great chemistry
• You’ll feast on a plethora of emotions

The Bad

• Draggy parts
• Blatant disregard for accuracy, historical facts

Editor’s Ratings