"Brothers"

Well, I'm back. I watched another movie yesterday. This one was Brothers starring Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Natalie Portman. It's premise was interesting, Maguire plays Sam, a Marine Capatain who along with one of his soldiers is captured in Afghanistan and held prisoner, tortured and forced to commit horrible acts in order to survive. Meanwhile, Portman plays Grace, Sam's wife, who has been told that her husband was killed in the car accident that preceded his capture. Grace, in her mourning, is aided in caring for her home and two daughters by Gyllenhaal's Tommy, Sam's black sheep brother fresh out of prison.

The plot thickens as Grace and Tommy are inevitably drawn to one another, and when Sam is rescued and returns home the traumatized and volatile Marine makes for a situation filled with drama. As I said, the premise is interesting, if not a little played out. Stop-loss a film released a few years ago already functioned to display the effects of PTSD on soldiers returning from the Middle East. Grace is Gone starring John Cusack already displayed what the grief of losing a spouse in these wars can do to the family left behind, and of course the idea of two brothers and/or best friends falling for the same girl is a story as old as time...even Pearl Harbor had that story-line.

While the movie was decent, and Gyllenhaal gave a superb performance as the lovable misunderstood saavy ex-con, it lacked drive and was oftentimes boring. The most questionable aspect of the film was by far the choice of Tobey Maguire in the role of Sam. Peter Parker is no Marine. Maguire is suited toward the role of lovable geeky guy, and occasional geeky superhero, but a seasoned Marine accustomed to combat? Trained to kill? Less believable. Maguire did a good job of displaying the internal conflict of a trauma victim after his return and his acting was not the issue at all, but the role just did not seem to fully cater to what he does best, and his casting was distracting to the point of pulling the film apart at the seams.

What the film and script did especially well was capturing the akwardness that can be had at any large family meal, but particularly one in which one member of the family is noticably aggrivated and the situation is delicate to say the least. One scene of this sort in the film was so real and the tension and discomfort around the table so palpable that I found myself and my movie-viewing companion squirming on the couch in discomfort along with the characters.

Overall I wouldn't say the movie is particularly good or memorable, nor is it a total waste or something to be completely avoided. Just another Iraq/Afghanistan war-related movie, and another love triangle, but with a talented cast and a few key scenes that make the film worth the time.