Brothers

The trailer for Brothers, released December 4th, would have the viewer believe that the film is an angry drama about jealousy between two brothers. The scenes in the trailer are dark, filled with screaming men (Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhal) and tense music. The actual film, however, is much more than the glorified soap opera that the trailers suggest.

In reality, Brothers is a film about war. It’s hard to tell if it’s an anti-war film, but it shows the horrors of warfare in ways that the average American (shown through Natalie Portman, Jake Gyllenhall, and child actors Bailee Madison and Taylor Geare) cannot comprehend. Tobey Maguire plays marine Captain Sam Cahill, a soldier presumed dead but actually taken captive in an Afghani military camp. What gives the film its title is the relationship between Sam and his brother Tommy (Jake Gyllenhall), a rascal and implied rapist who is released from prison at the beginning of the movie and the relationship of both brothers to the Cahill family (most notably Natalie Portman as Grace Cahill).

Before continuing this review, be forewarned. Brothers is a brutal, brutal film. There is traditional war violence, but even more violent is the anguish. The film is so depressing that I had to play a round of Dance Dance Revolution in the theater lobby before I could stop crying and compose myself for long enough to write this review.

This is not, however, to suggest that the film isn’t worth seeing. Actually, the film itself is wonderful. Painful, but beautifully made and extremely well thought out. The film’s pacing is slow enough to allow for plot and character development (the best of which is often accomplished without any dialogue), but the film rarely if ever feels long or boring. The relationship between the two brothers is clearly marked, not so much through their interactions as through their interactions with the family members, and in a way that makes the audience members feel like they’ve discovered some bigger secret about symbolism and what every glance and line of dialogue means to the greater meaning.

What really makes this film wonderful, however, is the acting. The children are both adorable and poignant, with Bailee Madison giving an especially good performance as older sibling Isabelle (most notably in a scene at the dinner table where she confronts Sam about himself, Tommy, and Grace). Jake Gyllenhall goes from being a sullen drunk parolee to being a model of stability and fun in a very believable and likeable way. Natalie Portman is terrific as Grace, subtly portraying the emotional process of the grieving and subsequently healing widow of a man who isn’t actually dead.

All of these performances are great. But the one who absolutely deserves a Best Actor nomination is Tobey Maguire. Maguire reaches extreme emotional depths as Sam. His character’s development happens slowly, but extremely powerfully. It is impossible not to empathize with him, even as he unwillingly destroys a fellow soldier and willingly destroys his own house and family. If there was ever a poster performance for PTSD, it is Maguire as Sam.

For all of these reasons, everyone reading this review should go see Brothers. Just remember to bring tissues.

Grade: A-