When a film  has Jim Sheridan as its director, a screenplay by screenwriter/author David Benioff  and is based on a film (Brødre) written and directed by acclaimed Danish director/writer Susanne Bier,  it would be surprising if the film were anything short of first rate. Although the copious advertisements for Brothers suggest a smarmy familial love triangle, Brothers is a thoughtful and dark exploration of war’s effect on soldiers and their families. The big stars in the film do a fine job with the serious material.

Capt. Sam Cahill (Tobey Maguire) is the son who makes his father (Sam Shepard) proud. A former high school football player who married his cheerleader girlfriend Grace (Natalie Portman), Sam is a good husband and father to their two little girls. He is a brave soldier who is returning to fight in Afghanistan. He even finds time for his bad brother Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal), who has just been released from jail. But when the family is told that Sam has been killed, family dynamics change. The film alternates scenes of Tommy repairing his relationships with his parents, sister-in-law and nieces with scenes of Sam being captured and tortured in Afghanistan. Sam is brave and strong, but is forced to commit terrible acts. As Sam struggles to hold on to his morality, Tommy becomes a better person as he fills the void left by Sam. When Sam returns home, the family must adjust to two changed brothers, and a family that is changed forever.

All of the principals do the material justice and all of the actors make the others’ performances better. Natalie Portman is excellent as always, and her Grace is complex as she fights despair in the aftermath of Sam’s death, but still manages to laugh with her children when they make her pancakes. Jake Gyllenhaal is sexy and likeable as the troubled Tommy, and Gyllenhaal subtly registers Tommy’s changes in ways that seem realistic. He is convincing as the slightly scary and unstable ex-con, who drinks too much before and after his brother’s death, but he shows sensitivity as he changes into a supportive uncle and makes his nieces laugh when he allows them to help paint the kitchen. I am used to seeing Tobey Maguire as a nice guy, but Maguire shows real range as the soldier coping with returning home, but still haunted by the war. When Sam becomes unhinged and threatens his family, we see Maguire can go to a very dark place. Sam Shepard is wonderful as the military  father who is bursting with pride for Sam, but has a very strained relationship with Tommy. Two of the strongest scenes in the film feature the family at the dinner table, and the scenes are thick with unspoken tension. One dinner take place before Sam leaves for Afghanistan; the other takes place after Sam returns. A different brother causes the tension in each scene, and each scene is wonderfully acted by Portman, Gyllenhaal, Maguire and Shepard. All four actors say very little, but use their eyes and facial expressions to convey the tensions and their feelings, and the scenes are convincingly uncomfortable.

 Much like Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire, this film also examines the near impossibility of a person retaining his humanity in the face of unrelenting inhumane treatment. Captain Sam remains a loyal and brave soldier through most of the film, but blames himself for what his captors force him to be. When he finally comes home, he is damaged (and who would not be?) and has become a person his family does not recognize. He wants his life to be the same life he left, but he has changed, and is angry and suspicious. But Sam’s hardships are the catalyst for Tommy’s transformation. Sam’s “death” leaves a void in the family that Tommy is able to fill. When Sam returns, he finds his children prefer Tommy. What is most difficult for Sam to accept is that in a sense, neither of them is to blame.

Brothers  is not a feel good film, although many of the scenes of Portman and Gyllenhaal with Grace and Sam’s adorable daughters Isabelle (Bailee Madison) and Maggie (Taylor Geare) are enjoyable. The chemistry between these four is evident and an important plot point; it is very clear why Sam feels displaced. The ending of the film is not pat, but it is believable, and sadly current and relevant.

Brothers.  Directed by Jim Sheridan. Jake Gyllenhaal (Tommy Cahill), Natalie Portman (Grace Cahill) Tobey Maguire (Capt. Sam Cahill), Sam Shepard (Hank Cahill), Mare Winningham (Elsie Cahill), Bailee Madison (Isabelle Cahill) Taylor Geare (Maggie Cahill), and Patrick Flueger (Private Joe Willis). Lionsgate, 2009.

 

Gail sees a movie appears every Wednesday.

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