Another fine export from the emerald isle, our very own Jim Sheridan, brings you Brothers. Starring Tobey Maguire, Natalie Portman and Jake Gyllenhaal, Brothers is a story with a fantastic idea.
Sam Cahill (Maguire) is in the US military donning some captain badges and is shipped off to your stereotypical middle eastern warzone. Grace Cahill is his wife (Portman) and Tommy Cahill (its all about the Cahill's’, is played by Gyllenhaal. The idea behind the story here is fantastic. When Sam gets shipped off, he get’s captured by the Taliban or some other bunch of bandits and is presumed dead. Back home, the Cahill family have a funeral and attempt to get on with their lives. Except Sam isn’t dead, he’s still alive and being kept as a POW, and will eventually make it back home. By the time he does make it back home, things aren’t the same. Because of what he had to do, in captivity, he is a different man, as his mind keeps drifting back to his captive time. Tommy on the other hand, who is the no hoper, not long out of prison brother starts helping out Grace. Before long, it’s quite obvious that there is an attraction there, no matter how taboo it is. Sam figure’s out something is going on with his brother and wife, and the story kicks it up a gear as sibling rivalry comes to a mental (literally) finale.
As I said the story is fantastic and is a really great idea, but the casting, for me anyway is all wrong in parts. Maguire and Portman do not look like the happy family at all. To be honest, they don’t even look like a husband and wife let alone a family. Not convincing in any aspect. It may be down to the fact that Maguire has very little chemistry with his on screen wife and the scenes they share together are painful to watch at times and almost cringe worthy. That’s not to say the man who shot webs out of his wrists, puts in a bad performance. There are certainly some inspired pieces in Brothers from Tobey Maguire. In particular Maguire explodes in the final scenes. But he still looks miscast in this movie. Maybe it has come from years of watching him as Spiderman, but he is not a likeable character in any sense of the word. After all this is the guy we are supposed to feel sympathy for. In hindsight, maybe this is the vision Sheridan had, but it just doesn't sit well with me.
Jake Gyllenhaal is sporting the rough and rugged look and plays a blinder as the no hoper brother who progresses from zero to almost hero. I wasn’t expecting much from him, but his performance is consistent throughout and even though he was making some lovey dovey moves on his brothers wife, he is a very likeable, cheer for the underdog type character. Portman dials in her performance. Nothing wrong with it, she does her job and does it well. But I don’t think she broke a sweat!
Brothers moves along fairly well and is quite intense at times. And to be fair, Jim Sheridan does a pretty decent job at keeping the whole thing together and at times it is beautifully shot. But it’s let down by the fact that the family Cahill with the exception of Jake Gyllenhaal, are not entirely convincing as the family unit. Brothers isn’t a bad movie. It’s certainly quite entertaining and does indeed bring home the horrors of the battlefield and even the older brother syndrome, but I just wonder would a different cast have made a good film, great!
Sam Cahill (Maguire) is in the US military donning some captain badges and is shipped off to your stereotypical middle eastern warzone. Grace Cahill is his wife (Portman) and Tommy Cahill (its all about the Cahill's’, is played by Gyllenhaal. The idea behind the story here is fantastic. When Sam gets shipped off, he get’s captured by the Taliban or some other bunch of bandits and is presumed dead. Back home, the Cahill family have a funeral and attempt to get on with their lives. Except Sam isn’t dead, he’s still alive and being kept as a POW, and will eventually make it back home. By the time he does make it back home, things aren’t the same. Because of what he had to do, in captivity, he is a different man, as his mind keeps drifting back to his captive time. Tommy on the other hand, who is the no hoper, not long out of prison brother starts helping out Grace. Before long, it’s quite obvious that there is an attraction there, no matter how taboo it is. Sam figure’s out something is going on with his brother and wife, and the story kicks it up a gear as sibling rivalry comes to a mental (literally) finale.
As I said the story is fantastic and is a really great idea, but the casting, for me anyway is all wrong in parts. Maguire and Portman do not look like the happy family at all. To be honest, they don’t even look like a husband and wife let alone a family. Not convincing in any aspect. It may be down to the fact that Maguire has very little chemistry with his on screen wife and the scenes they share together are painful to watch at times and almost cringe worthy. That’s not to say the man who shot webs out of his wrists, puts in a bad performance. There are certainly some inspired pieces in Brothers from Tobey Maguire. In particular Maguire explodes in the final scenes. But he still looks miscast in this movie. Maybe it has come from years of watching him as Spiderman, but he is not a likeable character in any sense of the word. After all this is the guy we are supposed to feel sympathy for. In hindsight, maybe this is the vision Sheridan had, but it just doesn't sit well with me.
Jake Gyllenhaal is sporting the rough and rugged look and plays a blinder as the no hoper brother who progresses from zero to almost hero. I wasn’t expecting much from him, but his performance is consistent throughout and even though he was making some lovey dovey moves on his brothers wife, he is a very likeable, cheer for the underdog type character. Portman dials in her performance. Nothing wrong with it, she does her job and does it well. But I don’t think she broke a sweat!
Brothers moves along fairly well and is quite intense at times. And to be fair, Jim Sheridan does a pretty decent job at keeping the whole thing together and at times it is beautifully shot. But it’s let down by the fact that the family Cahill with the exception of Jake Gyllenhaal, are not entirely convincing as the family unit. Brothers isn’t a bad movie. It’s certainly quite entertaining and does indeed bring home the horrors of the battlefield and even the older brother syndrome, but I just wonder would a different cast have made a good film, great!
