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Brothers

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Brothers (2009)

December. 02,2009
|
7.1
|
R
| Drama Thriller War
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When his helicopter goes down during his fourth tour of duty in Afghanistan, Marine Sam Cahill is presumed dead. Back home, brother Tommy steps in to look over Sam’s wife, Grace, and two children. Sam’s surprise homecoming triggers domestic mayhem.

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Reviews

Cubussoli
2009/12/02

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

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Cathardincu
2009/12/03

Surprisingly incoherent and boring

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ClassyWas
2009/12/04

Excellent, smart action film.

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Comwayon
2009/12/05

A Disappointing Continuation

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Python Hyena
2009/12/06

Brothers (2009): Dir: Jim Sheridan / Cast: Tobey Maguire, Natalie Portman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Patrick Flueger, Sam Shepard: This is the film that the dreadful piece of sh*t Pearl Harbor failed to be. It stars Tobey Maguire as a soldier stationed in Afghanistan and the nightmare for which he endured that will forever scar his life. He was believed dead. He has a wife and two daughters as well as a brother who just got released from prison for armed robbery and is trying to redirect his life by helping his brother's family through this trying time. While an affair between his wife and brother is hinted director Jim Sheridan deals with it in a respectable way as oppose to the Michael Bay bullshit where this was exploited. Maguire delivers one of his greatest performances as someone who left as a family man until the tortures of war drew him into a forced repulsive act that drives him to guilt and near madness upon his return. Natalie Portman as his wife struggles to deal with his sudden change and after a crisis that draws police, she will learn the reason for his actions. Jake Gyllenhaal as his brother struggles for acceptance while dealing with jealousy. Patrick Flueger plays Maguire's fellow soldier and friend and the reason for his trauma. Sam Shepard plays the stern father of the two boys and whose attitude poises tension. Theme regards the strength of family in the face of tragedy. Score: 10 / 10

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juneebuggy
2009/12/07

This was incredibly well acted and a powerful drama. The movie itself isn't perfect but the performances overshadow a weak screenplay and strange lack of depth (considering the subject matter)It was the character development that genuinely got me invested here along with a stand out turn from Tobey Maguire. Wow. Jake Gyllenhaal also does a good job and while I like Natalie Portman I felt that her character was kind of flat and aloof considering the emotions her she should have been going through. I actually got more from her oldest daughter who brought me to tears.Outstanding sub cast as well in Sam Shepard and Mare Winningham who round out the layers to this dysfunctional family.Tobey Maguire plays Sam Cahill, a marine who is believed to be killed while serving a second tour in Afghanistan. Jake Gyllenhaal is his deadbeat younger brother Tommy who has just been released from prison and becomes an unexpected source of support for Sam's grieving wife Grace.The movie alternates between Grace and Tommy back in the States and Sam who has been captured and is experiencing starvation and unbearable tortures in Afghanistan by the Taliban. He eventually returns home a very changed man, suffering PTSD and convinced his wife and brother have slept together. The confrontation to this matter is powerful stuff, wasn't sure how it was going to play out. Worth watching just for the incredible performance from Toby Maguire. 9/8/15

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LiveYoLifeLikeYouMeanIt
2009/12/08

Brothers is a very well-crafted and supremely acted movie starring a powerhouse cast comprising Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal and Natalie Portman. Brothers is one of those movies that is thoroughly engaging from first shot to last and is able to exude this constant enchanting aura that gives weighted emotion to every one of its scenes. Its story isn't exactly original, a point that I will return to in a few moments, but is memorable due to the careful and precise direction, the pleasantly intense background score that captures the depth of every scene, and most of all, the acting by the entire cast, especially Tobey Maguire. Tobey Maguire plays his role with absolute and terrifying dedication, for his performance was very intense and heartfelt. He perfectly depicts the ways in which war can and does change the lives of the soldiers it harbours and the extent to which such strains can lead family life astray. And exactly where Tobey was very expressive and full blown, the always reliable Jake Gyllenhaal gives a more subtle performance with equal fervour and impact. Natalie Portman holds her own fort and is able to evict true emotion and feeling in the viewer. The two little girls in the film are surprisingly very good, so much so that they nearly manage to steal some scenes from their elder, more qualified counterparts. Having spoken about the acting, it's time to talk about Jim Sheridan's direction. Sheridan's direction is reserved and confident, and expertly brings to life the events on screen. Each scene is well thought out and shown with the maximum attention to detail. A dinner scene in the third half of the movie is astounding in it's craft, with every little manoeuvre and expression captivatingly unveiled, with the whole act being thoroughly dramatic and power-packed. This really is potent direction that is worthy of much praise. Some people deride the movie citing it as too melodramatic, and still others consider it generic Hollywood fare about how war affects people's lives. I believe this is hypocritical in nature, because this is rather unwarranted. Firstly, about this supposedly being melodramatic, I would like to point out that the movie was very reserved in its depiction of pain and suffering in most parts, while only reaching it's dramatic crescendo in the final ten minutes, which was very much necessary, especially considering how well acted the scenes in question were, and hence dismissing the entire movie as melodrama is unfair. And about it being a very generic tale about war, makes me wonder what this movie could have done differently to have not been 'generic'. Were it to focus more on the War itself, it would have been termed as pointless action with no dramatic heft, and since it does focus on the psychological effects of war, it is considered generic with striking comparisons with the 1978 classic 'The deer hunter'. This nature of belittling a movie released years after another, dealing with a 'similar' concept and theme, which in fact, is very much grounded in its own reality and carves its own character arcs, is once again unfair. Finally, I would like to say that Brothers is very strong, heartfelt entertainment that has been overlooked for some of the reasons stated and rebuttled above. The greatest strength of this movie is the acting it features and is truly an underrated gem.

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Dominic LeRose
2009/12/09

Films like "Brothers" that deal more with the trauma faced by soldiers after their battles are usually more powerful than those that center around the actual war. Director Jim Sheridan does a marvelous job bringing three-dimensional characters to life in a story that is impossible to turn away from. Toby Maguire gives one of the best performances of all time as Sam Cahill, a solider who gets sent to Afghanistan and goes missing. The devastating news is heard by his lovely wife Grace (Natalie Portman) and his underachieving brother Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal). Tommy steps up and becomes a father figure to his nieces and becomes close with with Grace. When Sam returns home, everyone is extremely happy to see him. The hardest part of "Brothers" are the scenes involving Sam's PDS. Maguire's acting is amazing and powerful. Whenever he steps on the screen he dominates the shot with his rich facial expressions and audacious actions. His Oscar snub is the most unfortunate to date in my mind. There's a lot of interesting connections between all the members of the Cahill family that give a great dramatic effect. The story mainly focuses on the relation between Sam and Tommy due to them both facing similar situations. They each fight their own wars in life. Gyllenhaal and Maguire capture the emotional changes in their characters very well. The script by David Benioff is one of the most powerful stories imaginable. It focuses more on how overwhelming experiences destroy lives than on the actual experiences themselves. The dialogue shared between the characters is either very realistic or uncomfortable to handle due to the intensity it will lead to. "Brothers" is more of a family struggles film than a war film. One thing Jim Sheridan does meticulously is make the most high-powered scenes inside Sam's house. We get a perfect balance of seeing the Cahill family before and after Sam comes homes to create complex characterization and almost never ending conflict. Films like "Brothers" are not typical conflict resolution films. This one is a tragic examination of one of American societies most devastating struggles. You couldn't ask for more talented people to make this gripping film.

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