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/****
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/****