Too much of everything

Nice effects though.

A Brilliant Conflict

I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Toby Maguire puts on an epic performance, Natalie Portman is her always awesome self, and Jake Gyllenhaal brings it as well. Loved it, definitely brings the feels.

Brothers (2009): Dir: Jim Sheridan / Cast: Tobey Maguire, Natalie Portman, Jake Gyllenhaal, Patrick Flueger, Sam Shepard: This is the film that the dreadful piece of sh*t Pearl Harbor failed to be. It stars Tobey Maguire as a soldier stationed in Afghanistan and the nightmare for which he endured that will forever scar his life. He was believed dead. He has a wife and two daughters as well as a brother who just got released from prison for armed robbery and is trying to redirect his life by helping his brother's family through this trying time. While an affair between his wife and brother is hinted director Jim Sheridan deals with it in a respectable way as oppose to the Michael Bay bullshit where this was exploited. Maguire delivers one of his greatest performances as someone who left as a family man until the tortures of war drew him into a forced repulsive act that drives him to guilt and near madness upon his return. Natalie Portman as his wife struggles to deal with his sudden change and after a crisis that draws police, she will learn the reason for his actions. Jake Gyllenhaal as his brother struggles for acceptance while dealing with jealousy. Patrick Flueger plays Maguire's fellow soldier and friend and the reason for his trauma. Sam Shepard plays the stern father of the two boys and whose attitude poises tension. Theme regards the strength of family in the face of tragedy. Score: 10 / 10

Brothers is a very well-crafted and supremely acted movie starring a powerhouse cast comprising Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal and Natalie Portman. Brothers is one of those movies that is thoroughly engaging from first shot to last and is able to exude this constant enchanting aura that gives weighted emotion to every one of its scenes. Its story isn't exactly original, a point that I will return to in a few moments, but is memorable due to the careful and precise direction, the pleasantly intense background score that captures the depth of every scene, and most of all, the acting by the entire cast, especially Tobey Maguire. Tobey Maguire plays his role with absolute and terrifying dedication, for his performance was very intense and heartfelt. He perfectly depicts the ways in which war can and does change the lives of the soldiers it harbours and the extent to which such strains can lead family life astray. And exactly where Tobey was very expressive and full blown, the always reliable Jake Gyllenhaal gives a more subtle performance with equal fervour and impact. Natalie Portman holds her own fort and is able to evict true emotion and feeling in the viewer. The two little girls in the film are surprisingly very good, so much so that they nearly manage to steal some scenes from their elder, more qualified counterparts. Having spoken about the acting, it's time to talk about Jim Sheridan's direction. Sheridan's direction is reserved and confident, and expertly brings to life the events on screen. Each scene is well thought out and shown with the maximum attention to detail. A dinner scene in the third half of the movie is astounding in it's craft, with every little manoeuvre and expression captivatingly unveiled, with the whole act being thoroughly dramatic and power-packed. This really is potent direction that is worthy of much praise. Some people deride the movie citing it as too melodramatic, and still others consider it generic Hollywood fare about how war affects people's lives. I believe this is hypocritical in nature, because this is rather unwarranted. Firstly, about this supposedly being melodramatic, I would like to point out that the movie was very reserved in its depiction of pain and suffering in most parts, while only reaching it's dramatic crescendo in the final ten minutes, which was very much necessary, especially considering how well acted the scenes in question were, and hence dismissing the entire movie as melodrama is unfair. And about it being a very generic tale about war, makes me wonder what this movie could have done differently to have not been 'generic'. Were it to focus more on the War itself, it would have been termed as pointless action with no dramatic heft, and since it does focus on the psychological effects of war, it is considered generic with striking comparisons with the 1978 classic 'The deer hunter'. This nature of belittling a movie released years after another, dealing with a 'similar' concept and theme, which in fact, is very much grounded in its own reality and carves its own character arcs, is once again unfair. Finally, I would like to say that Brothers is very strong, heartfelt entertainment that has been overlooked for some of the reasons stated and rebuttled above. The greatest strength of this movie is the acting it features and is truly an underrated gem.

I was not expecting this to be as good as it was. Tobey Maguire really showed how good his acting skills can be. He gave a surprisingly emotional and dramatic performance as a veteran who is struggling with the horrors of war and what he had to do during the war to survive. Jake Gylanhaul and Natalie Portman give great performances also but Tobey Maguire's performance stands out the most. The reason i gave it 9/10 instead of 10/10 is because the film started off slow but all in all it is definitely worth watching. It is a movie that fans of Tobey Maguire, Natalie Portman, or Jake Gylenhaal fans should see. Fans of drama/war films should also watch this.