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| Poster artwork for the drama film Brothers. |
Sibling Support by Linh
Six-time
Oscar-nominated director Jim Sheridan (In
The Name Of The Father, My Left Foot
– The Story of Christy Brown) has masterfully re-made a beautiful 2004
Danish film, Brødre, into a emotionally-fraught
and watchable American story of a two brothers titled Brothers. It is usually difficult to transfer the subtle and
mesmerising allure of a foreign film into an American version, yet Jim Sheridan
has successfully taken Brothers to a
different level without giving it the formulaic Hollywood treatment.
Brothers follows the lives of two brothers,
a dependable and courageous soldier Sam Cahill (Tobey Maguire) and his
recently-released-from-prison brother Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal). When Sam is
deployed to Afghanistan, he leaves behind his wife Grace (Natalie Portman) and
two daughters Isabelle (Bailee Madison) and Maggie (Taylor Geare). When Grace
receives a message that Sam has been killed in battle, she soon receives the
support and companionship of Tommy, whom the daughters quickly accept into the
family. While Tommy brings some joy and sunshine into the lives of Sam’s family
members, Sam and his friend and colleague Private Joseph Willis (Patrick
Flueger) are captured by Taliban fighters and tortured. After Sam is rescued by
US soldiers, he returns home as a changed man. His experiences in Afghanistan
manifests into obsessive compulsiveness, paranoia and he suspects his wife of
committing adultery with his brother.
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BROTHERLY: Sam (Tobey Maguire) and
Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal) reconcile after Sam returns from Afghanistan in the
film Brothers. Image: Lionsgate.
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Jake
Gyllenhaal is at his best as the calm and laid-back Tommy Cahill whom his
father Hank continues to disapprove of, despite Tommy’s willingness to turn
over a new leaf in life after his stint in prison.
Natalie
Portman gives a wonderful portrayal of Grace, the young and demure wife of Sam,
who must handle the children on her own after hearing of his death, then has to
deal with his erratic behaviour when he returns.
Tobey
Maguire is brilliant as Sam, whose treatment at the hands of Taliban fighters
has left him psychologically-scarred and emotionally unstable. His once strong and loving relationship with
his daughters become fractured and his trust in his wife slowly diminishes.
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ASSISTANCE: Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal)
offers to help Grace (Natalie Portman) babysit her daughters while she deals with
Sam's death in the film Brothers.
Image: Lionsgate.
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Academy
Award nominee Carey Mulligan for An
Education, shines in her few scenes as the wife of Private Joseph Willis;
playwright/actor/director Sam Shepard is commanding in his depiction of Hank Cahill, a war veteran and father of Sam
and Tommy; the two daughters Isabelle and Maggie played by Bailee Madison and
Taylor Geare are adorably convincing; and comic relief comes courtesy of Ethan
Suplee as Sweeney, Arron Shiver playing A.J. and Ray Prewitt as Owen.
Brothers is a gentle family drama that is
beautifully filmed, the performances of the leading and supporting cast are
excellent and the story-line moves steadily to a cathartic climax. The focus on
war’s impact on a family is maintained throughout without the soppy
sentimentality of other similar films.
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TOGETHER: Grace (Natalie Portman)
greets her husband Sam (Tobey Maguire) at the airport with their daughters
Isabelle (Bailee Madison) and Maggie (Taylor Geare) following close behind in
the film Brothers. Image: Lionsgate.
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Director: Jim Sheridan
Writers: David Benioff (screenplay), Susanne
Bier (Danish film Brødre) and Anders
Thomas Jensen (Danish film Brødre)
Cast: Natalie Portman, Jake Gyllenhaal,
Tobey Maguire, Sam Shepard, Mare Winningham, Bailee Madison, Taylor Geare,
Carey Mulligan, Patrick Flueger, Clifton Collins Jr., Jenny Wade, Ethan Suplee,
Arron Shiver, Ray Prewitt, Omid Abtahi, Navid Negahban, Yousuf Azami
Producers: Jeremiah Samuels, Scott
Fischer, Ryan Kavanaugh, Zach Schiff-Abrams, Tucker Tooley, Michael De Luca,
Matt Battaglia, Mark Fischer, Sigurjon Sighvatsson
Cinematographer: Frederick Elmes
Original Music Composer: Thomas Newman
Film Editor: Jay Cassidy
Production: Tony fanning (Production
Designer), Guy Barnes (Art Director), Wendy Ozols-Barnes (Set Decorator)
Costume Designer: Durinda Wood
Running Time: 1 hour and 45 minutes
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