Brothers

(2009) 

Watched - 4/15/2010

Rating - Low ***

Summary-

A young man comforts his older brother's wife and children after he goes missing in Afghanistan.

-IMDB.com

When severely traumatized Capt. Sam Cahill (Golden Globe nominee Tobey Maguire) returns home alive from a military mission in Afghanistan after he was presumed dead, he learns that his brother, Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal), has gotten dangerously close to his grieving wife, Grace (Natalie Portman), and his kids. Mare Winningham and Sam Shepard also star in this wartime drama about human frailty and battles fought on the home front. Jim Sheridan directs.

-Netflix.com

Review-

 Honestly, I was very excited about this movie and was fairly dissapointed.

Now dont get me wrong. The acting had nothing to do with it. Tobey Maguire (while he mutilated his role as Spiderman, in my opinion) was completely amazing as a traumatized war hero. Something about his on the edge expression, and wide eyed glare was right on key, to show the difference between the happy man "Sam" was before he left, and the broken shell that returned. Jake Gyllenhaal was amazing as "Tommy", Sam's younger brother who has been in jail for a bank robbery. As always, Natalie Portman, stunned me with her portrayle as first an army wife, then an army wife who has lost her husband to the job he loved, to a woman who is getting back on her feet and is confused about the feeling starting to grow for her husbands own brother, to obviously relieved, and happy,  but unsure on how to deal with the situation once her husband comes home. 

The reason I was so excited that they put all the exciting parts into the trailer. The movie was a lot slower than they made it seem, and a lot less happened than was alluded to in the trailer. I mean yes this does happen a lot with movies today (Case and Point being recent remake "Last house on the Left"), but in my opinion that doesn't make it okay.

For me, Even the climax was anti-climactic. But maybe thats just me.

Either way, the acting was superb, but the story was a bit slow for my taste. Someone else may see this and love it! Honestly in the end I would vote that you give it a chance and form your own decision on this one!