Brothers

Feb 17, 2010
By Michael Litvinsky

Director: Jim Sheridan

Despite the fact that the movie “Brothers” might, at first sight, look stereotyped and common, upon a closer look it shows some great qualities, essential for every good movie. What at first seems a trivial love triangle story turns out to be a magnificently recreated drama, performed by some great actors.

Oscar nominated director Jim Sheridan shows us a story of two brothers – one of them, Sam (Toby Maguire), a captain in the U.S. Marines, a perfect role model, making his parents proud, and the second – Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal) – an ex-conman who just got out of jail, with no work or place to stay, who is a constant headache for their parents. Still, when Sam goes missing in Afghanistan, Tommy is the one who comforts Sam’s wife Grace (Natalie Portman) and his daughters. And although Grace has a feeling that Sam is alive, she gets closer to Tommy with every passing day. In the meantime, the movie shows us Sam, who was captured by Taliban soldiers and is getting tortured and forced to do terrible things, and even though, in time, Sam is set free, his mind and soul are already broken. So when Sam returns home, he feels rejected by his wife and children, and that makes him even more angry and paranoid.

Nevertheless, the most interesting part of the film is not the plot, but the acting and the characters, which the actors managed to invent on screen. First of all, the younger brother – Tommy - struggles at first, but as he gets closer to his brother’s family, he somehow manages to get his own life together. Then there’s Grace (a magnificent performance by Natalie Portman), a very controversial character, constantly trying to fight her feelings towards Tommy, and yet getting closer and closer to him every day. And, of course, there is an unforgettable Oscar-level performance from Toby Maguire, so full and touching, it is impossible to describe it with words.

In today’s movies it sometimes seems that acting has stopped being the most important part, strange as this may seem, but thanks to movies like this one, acting is not a completely lost art.

Now showing in Latvia and Estonia.
Opens March, 19 in Lithuania

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