Film of the week: Brothers (15)

Damon Smith • Published 31 Jan 2010 15:00 0 Comments

ALL'S fair in love and war. In Jim Sheridan's English language remake of Susanne Bier's celebrated Danish drama Brodre, love is war as two siblings - polar opposites - are divided by their deep bond to the same woman.

Like the original film, Brothers is distinguished by emotionally raw performances and an escalating tension as the characters' underlying rage and guilt gradually bubble to the surface.

Shrugging off his Spider-Man costume, Tobey Maguire is a revelation as a soldier haunted by his experiences at the hands of the enemy, whose deep psychological wounds threaten to tear his family apart.

Jake Gyllenhaal plies roguish charm as the black sheep of the family and Natalie Portman is in sparkling form as a doting mother, desperately searching for affection in the midst of grief.

Depressingly, scenes set in Afghanistan are just as relevant today as they were five years ago when Bier's picture collected numerous awards on the festival circuit.

Tommy Cahill (Gyllenhaal) is released from prison, having served his time for armed robbery.

He begins to rebuild his life by re-establishing links with his parents Hank (Sam Shepard) and Elsie (Mare Winningham), who have always shown preference to his golden boy brother, Sam (Maguire).

The first few days are difficult and Hank makes no bones about flaunting his admiration for Sam, a well-respected captain in the Marines who is about to embark on his fourth tour of duty.

However, Tommy gets to prove his worth when Sam is dispatched to Afghanistan and his helicopter is shot down over enemy territory.

With his sibling presumed dead, Tommy lends his support to Sam's beautiful wife, Grace (Portman), and her two daughters, Isabelle (Bailee Madison) and Maggie (Taylor Geare).

Over time, Tommy and Grace grow incredibly close but their mutual attraction, which spills over into a single kiss, is quickly extinguished when Sam is found alive, having been held captive and tortured by the Taliban.

Denials of an affair fall on deaf ears and it is only a matter of time before Sam declares war on the people he holds most dear.

Brothers is an accomplished distillation of Bier's superior 2004 film.

Performances are exemplary across the board, including a terrific supporting turn from youngster Madison as the daughter who resents her father's return and screams with tear-filled eyes, "I wish you'd stayed dead!"

Maguire and Portman don't convince as childhood sweethearts but her on-screen chemistry with Gyllenhaal simmers nicely, especially in the pivotal scene where they flirt while enjoying a joint and listening to U2.

"I took you for more of an 'N SYNC fan," giggles Tommy.

Like the war in Afghanistan, which creates divisions in the Cahill household, there is no swift or neat resolution to the characters' ordeal.

The casualties are high.

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This article appeared in Reading Chronicle 28 Jan 10

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