Brothers
Brothers are Capt. Sam Cahill (Tobey Maguire) and Tommy Cahill (Jake Gyllenhaal) both sons of Hank Cahill (Sam Shepard), a hard nosed retired sergeant from a small, frigid army town. Sam, a second generation soldier married to Grace (Natalie Portman) with two adorable daughters is a great source of pride for Hank who conversely has the same amount of distain for Tommy who never quite measures up. We meet the boys just as Sam is about to be deployed to Afghanistan and Tommy is finally out on parole. In short order Grace gets the tragic news that Sam is MIA but the truth is he’s been taken prisoner by the Taliban. Being of comfort to Grace and the girls is cathartic for the troubled Tommy until Sam returns damaged physically and especially mentally by the horrors of war. Knowing that everyone wrote him off as dead the fragile Sam comes close to the edge accusing Tommy and Grace of getting too cosy in his absence and the evidence seems to prove him right. Susanne Bier gets writing credits here as the film is based on her screenplay for the equally well done 2004 Danish movie Brødre (also called Brothers when release in North America). This Brothers looks like one of those movies that gives it all up in the trailers that run for months before the release date but don’t be fooled. This worthwhile drama offers much more than what meets the preview.