Brothers

Brothers had to be good. Starring Spider-Man, Queen Amidala and The Bubble Boy I thought it must be flawless. Actually, it’s a movie that includes war torture, post-traumatic stress and a lot of confused and sad people. So maybe it’s not the sci-fi epic I hoped, but that’s ok. The plot focused around three main characters, Sam (Tobey Maguire), Grace (Natalie Portman), and Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal). Sam who was presumed dead in Afghanistan returns and in his war torn state disrupts his family who has done well to recover from his death. It doesn’t help the Maguire’s character has gone completely crazy.

All three actors do well to prove they are talented performers. They each have some weak showings on their résumés and I think this film well help undo that a little bit. The pacing of the film was at times a bit slow but it worked well to portray a real life feel that connected the viewer to the characters. The small town scenes focusing on Grace and Tommy were very well done, presented with ups and downs and when paired with the terrifying scenes of Sam in Afghanistan the film becomes a multi-dimensional rollercoaster.

My biggest complaint comes with the resolution at the end of the film and its lack of Gyllenhaal’s character. This is a man who has gone through a major transformation throughout the film and the end mostly ignores that. Maguire of course is the focus but as the film is called Brothers I would have liked the role reversal to be played up a bit more. Like I said before it seems that when a movie holds back a little bit and doesn’t go overboard with theatrics and sitcom style resolutions than it becomes a little bit more realistic and close-to-home and Brothers was successful in this aspect. Peter Parker’s got a good shot at an Oscar… I mean Tobey Maguire does. (8 out of 10)