Director - Jim Sheridan
Genre - Drama/Thriller/War
As a character study on the effects of war towards soldiers, this is quite an eye-opener. Expected to leave everything at the drop of a hat, a soldier's life is treated as belonging to the country and not his own. What we fail to acknowledge though is that they have family too. There are fathers, husbands, wives and mothers in the army. Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal play siblings who are as different as night and day. Maguire is the disciplined marine who is also a responsible father and husband. Gyllenhaal stars as the bad seed who can never do anything right and has just been released from prison. However, after a terrible mistake and setback occurred to Maguire, everything changes. Maguire carried himself like a seasoned pro here, embodying the mental hurt inflicted on him in war with such intensity it actually pained us as well to look at him. Natalie Portman who starred as his wife and Gyllenhaal provided the necessary back and forth but Maguire's role was the heart of the story.
3.5 STARS!
All about Brothers
Comments
Thank you for your comment Candice.
Vigorously nodding my head in agreement!
Real People - Yes. Maguire's performance made all the difference. Thank you for your comment.