Hitting emotional highs and lows, Brothers is a film that deals with a family’s ability to cope with the loss of one of their own. After being deployed to Afghanistan, Sam (Tobey Maguire) and his crew end up being gunned down while in their helicopter. Presumed dead, the story shifts to Sam’s wife Grace (Natalie Portman) and brother, Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal). Tommy is on parole, and is trying to put his life back together. Sam’s presumed death ends up being a driving force in allowing him to do this.
Little does Sam’s family know, but Sam actually survived the crash, and was captured by local militia. He is captured along with one other member of his crew. Sam is a leader, guiding his crew member along, always pleading with him not to give their captors anything that could be used against them. He continues fighting and hoping that one day he will be able to return home to his wife, children and brother.
Right off the bat, we begin to see tension in the family. Sam actually returns home, and we have a family dinner, with Sam, Tommy, Grace and Sam’s parents. Sam’s parents, especially his father, don’t seem to like Tommy all that much, always looking down on him. Tommy is inferior to his brother, they believe, and they begin fighting almost right as the film opens.
Giving the characters depth from the get-go works incredibly well in Brothers, We begin caring for all of the characters, despite their easily apparent problems, and want to see them all make it through. Even though it is obvious that Sam will come out alive from the helicopter crash, it is still a tense moment in the film. We don’t want to see him die, and even though we don’t think he will, there is a lingering thought in the back of your mind, wondering what would happen if he did.
We actually do get to find this out, as all of the characters believe that Sam died. Life moves on, Tommy begins getting back on his feet, helping out Grace, and the two adults become close friends. Tommy’s life is improving daily, he starts having a strong connection to Grace’s children. Everything seems to be working out for the best. All the while, Sam is fighting back to get back to America.
Brothers really captures the essence of family relationships, in both its highs and lows. It opens up with problems, and slowly solves them as the film progresses. Once the problems are solved, it throws more into the mix. It keeps this cycle going throughout its runtime, and stays incredibly tense.
Most surprisingly to me is the fact that the part of the story focusing on Grace, Tommy and the children is the most entertaining, and also the one filled with the most tension. Maybe it is because those characters get the most development, but I really became emotionally invested in that story. You want to see Grace recover from her husband’s death, and you want to see Tommy come back from his jail sentence.
Sam’s story is less interesting, despite there being an ever-present threat to his life. At any moment, he could be shot, never to be heard from again. He doesn’t seem to fear death though, and almost seems to welcome it. He explains early on that being a marine makes him feel like home, maybe he believes that is where he should die. We don’t get to find out if that is what he truly believes.
Despite the gravity of the story, often delving into the deep, dark crevices of human relations, it balances this with hope, joy and humor. There are some incredibly touching moments scattered throughout, always used to break up the heavy tone that is usually present. It’s a dark film, but is also one that can give the viewer a sense of hope. It also has many moments where it will make you laugh, placed almost at what seems like the perfect moment.
Brothers is heavily dialogue driven, and thankfully, the writing was very good. Characters spoke in a believable manner, and their lines all felt natural, like something someone in their situations would actually say. There is passion behind each line of dialogue, and they were all delivered in a natural way.
Performance-wise, the entire cast did a great job. While we don’t actually see all that much from Tobey Maguire, he still does a great job with the role he was given. Jake Gyllenhaal was the most surprising performance, actually carrying the majority of the film by himself. Even Sam’s children were believable in their role, and their characters were given surprising amounts of depth.
Brothers is a film that I can say will stick with you. It features good actors playing interesting and deep characters well, telling an interesting and engaging story. The writing is believable, the acting is great and the story will keep you fascinated. You will become emotionally invested in its characters, and you will want to see them make it through to the end. Brothers balances emotional highs and lows properly, and is a rewarding viewing experience.