DVD Review #34 Brothers

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Brothers (2010) Tobey Maguire, Natalie Portman Parker Directed By Jim Sheridan

Similar to the film Precious, I wanted to put this obviously intense film off for as long as I could. Brothers was going to be hard to watch, and maybe even more difficult to rate was my guess, but as usual I was wrong about that…yes the film is intense, and subsequently hard to watch, however it is easy to rate because it is a tremendous film. It is both poignant and well-balanced, filled with good-acting that is paired with a haunting and touching soundtrack. Having served in the Marine Corps for a few years (although never seeing or having to deal with anything like this) I was emotionally captivated by the movie…actually scrunching up like a wussy knowing what was coming…hard to watch…but very good.

Brothers is the story of Capt. Sam Cahill (played brilliantly by Tobey Maguire), a Marine whose Blackhawk helicopter is shot down over Afghanistan. He is presumed dead by the military, but has been captured, and is not dead. His wife, Grace Cahill (again played brilliantly by Natalie Portman…who is always good) is left home to deal with two kids, and Sam’s drunk brother Tommy (played well by Jake Gyllenhal). With Tommy’s brother presumably dead, Tommy manages to clean up his act enough to help his brother’s wife both grieve and continue to take care of her family. While this is going on the captured Capt. Sam Cahill is being tortured and forced to face some of the most gruesome realties of war (these sequences are brutal), and after many dramatic moments in captivity, the camp he is being held in is freed by allied forces. I think most people will tell you that the film starts when Sam gets home to see that his brother has become close with his family and that the realities of non-war (or regular) life don’t seem to make sense to him anymore (a much sadder portrayal than the film The Hurt Locker which also deals with this), but I would argue that, though the most important scenes in the film come at the end, the moments with Sam in captivity are the meat, and the rest is the dressing. Little Bailee Madison who plays Sam’s daughter Isabelle Cahill is a break-out young actress who was great in this. I recommend this film highly, I don’t know when is a good time to watch a film like this, and now that I saw it on DVD, I sorta wish I had seen it in theaters…it is a good film…A film with a message, and a film about some of the darkest parts of war…the price some men have to pay…well watch the film and you will see. Would love comments on this one!

(The Shawshank Scale 1-10) Brothers is a very good 7.0 on the Scale, it will be just outside the top 10 of 2009 (see the list on the blog sidebar), the acting, the message, and the emotion that many will feel watching this film is what will make it memorable.