Gyllenhaal and Maguire - Brothers

[Kent]

Just saw that.....did not like the voiceover.

Trailer voice overs are almost always lame. This is no exception.

 

[nite-owl]

Maguire might be the least intimidating person ever.

 

[Raiden]

I read that Natalie Portman will have a sex scene in this movie.

 

[Raiden]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwabsKiaRIE

Natalie Portman looks unbelievably hot in every scene she's in. Maguire looks crazy, which is something that he should definitely take on in a movie to show his acting range.

Btw, I love the fact that they use U2's song "BAD" for the 2nd half of this trailer; that song is my favorite U2 song and I'm glad they use it over "One" (which is a song I can't stand).

 

[snakeinthegear]

Film looks interesting and I'm hoping for a great performance from Maguire, although he looks to frail. The roles should have been switched. Look at Gylenhaal for goodness sake, he looks ripped. Maguire better put on some weight and hit the gym for spidey 4.

 

[Dr. Evil]

From the looks of both trailers, Tobey's character

Spoiler

May have suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. It happens to soldiers coming home from war.

 

[Kent]

Trailer for "Brodre" the Danish film this is a remake of... might be interesting for comparison:

[YT]P5e2IM4QAMY[/YT]

 

[Raiden]

Film looks interesting and I'm hoping for a great performance from Maguire, although he looks to frail. The roles should have been switched. Look at Gylenhaal for goodness sake, he looks ripped. Maguire better put on some weight and hit the gym for spidey 4.

I think Maguire is older than Gyllenhaal, but appearance-wise Maguire looks too young and he doesn't look convincingly like Gyllenhaal's older brother, not to mention that he looks more frail than his co-star. I think he's the only miscast in the movie.

 

[Raiden]

Trailer for "Brodre" the Danish film this is a remake of... might be interesting for comparison:

[YT]P5e2IM4QAMY[/YT]

I didn't know Connie Nielsen is Danish.

 

[Kent]

Now you know.

 

[TheVileOne]

Regardless if you think he's dead, I think its wrong for a brother to play surrogate father and husband like that. Its kind of ****ed up.

 

[Nightmare]

From the looks of both trailers, Tobey's character

Spoiler

May have suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. It happens to soldiers coming home from war.

Pretty much what I guessed.

 

[Hunter Rider]

Powerful, thought provoking and at times disturbing, this is far from the melodrama that the initial promo reel made it out to be.

Tobey Maguire gives perhaps his best performance to date as Captain Sam Cahill, it is a challenging role that asks the audience to feel sympathy for a character put in an inhumane situation that leads him to inhumane acts. This is made even harder given the run time does not allow him enough time at the beginning of the movie to really establish a likable character before he is off to war where he is shot down and believed dead, yes we get he is a decent man and a good family guy, but there are only 2 scenes to get this point across, fortunately Maguire makes the most of both and we get the picture of his life that adds to the sadness of what happens to him.

The other two lead roles are also very well acted, Jake Gyllenhaal as Sam's ex-con loser brother is the more affable of the two brothers, he loves his brother but his brothers supposed death finally gives his life a purpose. Natalie Portman as Sam's wife Grace is convincing as the perfect wife and mother torn apart by the tragedy of war, her and the kids are collatreral damage in someone else's fight and they cling to Tommy for support and a lift, something that makes Tommy a better guy, however we don't some miraculous turnaround where he suddenly gets a stable job and becomes a perfect guy, his main effort in this area is refurbishing Grace's kitchen and hanging out with the her two young daughters, in essence filing the gap left by their father.

The movie jumps back and forth between Sam held prisoner in Afghanistan and Tommy and Grace attempting to repair their lives and raise the kids back home in the US. there are moments of warmth that you are ripped harshly from as the movie jumps back to the horrific situation Sam is in, this creates an emotional roller-coaster journey but I also felt more time was needed on the Tommy/Grace relationship to develop it further.

The third act where Sam returns home ratchets up the tension, he is damaged by the act he committed to stay alive in Afghanistan and paranoid that Tommy and Grace have been sleeping together, even though this is not true the attraction between the two is evident and when he sees them together he feels like he is watching a happy family, the happy family he wasn't able to have with them as he was always away on duty.

This all builds to an explosion at a family dinner for the birthday of the youngest of his two daughters, Isabel, the eldest, is now afraid of him and wishes Uncle Tommy was with her Mom instead, when Tommy shows up to the dinner with a girl he has just met it makes Isabel angry and she snaps at the dinner table revealing her pent up feelings, this is a fantastically natural piece of acting from a young actress and delivers the light to the powder keg that explodes when they get home, this is Maguire's moment as Sam finally snaps and while it's not a scene with great, insightful dialogue, it comes off as totally real, the rawness of the emotions of all three lead characters sear the screen.

The films wraps up without answers but just a glimmer of hope, much like real life often is. I think the movie could have done with another 20-30 minutes but it is still a fine drama with superb performances.

9/10

 

[TheFuture]

Well said Hunter.

I enjoyed the film, the only problem I had was that I wanted to see more of the relationship between Sam, Tommy and their father. The scenes between Tommy and his dad are particularly intruiging, however Sheridan never allows the two actors to completely let loose at each other which is something I would have really liked to see. All the same though there was some great subtle acting by Gyllenhaal, he easily got the feeling of animosity between Tommy and his dad through to the audience without saying a word.

Best scene I feel was probably the birthday party for one of the kids, you're waiting on the edge of your seat for Sam to snap because you know it's coming.

 

[Poetic Chaos]

I wanted to slap his fat daughter in the face after that scene.

 

[childeroland]

Did anyone else (besides Hunter) feel the film is missing something at the end? I don't know what, just something? If so, what?

 

[Hunter Rider]

I wanted to slap his fat daughter in the face after that scene.

WTF!

Well said Hunter.

I enjoyed the film, the only problem I had was that I wanted to see more of the relationship between Sam, Tommy and their father. The scenes between Tommy and his dad are particularly intruiging, however Sheridan never allows the two actors to completely let loose at each other which is something I would have really liked to see. All the same though there was some great subtle acting by Gyllenhaal, he easily got the feeling of animosity between Tommy and his dad through to the audience without saying a word.

Best scene I feel was probably the birthday party for one of the kids, you're waiting on the edge of your seat for Sam to snap because you know it's coming.

Yeah, I thought there was gonna be a big sit down heart to heart with Tommy and his dad, but I think all the men in that family had difficulty in expressing how they felt with words, like the scene in the kitchen, very little was said but it was as close to a make up as they were likely to manage.

Did anyone else (besides Hunter) feel the film is missing something at the end? I don't know what, just something? If so, what?

Well there were some bridges to be mended as loose ends were left, but without another movie I don't think the ending could have been more appropriate than the one used.

 

[Legion]

I wanted to slap his fat daughter in the face after that scene.

That girl was a brat. Her dad pretty much comes back from the grave and she tells him he should have stayed dead cuz he's not as fun as the uncle. She was funny looking too.

 

[Nightmare]

Very good movie, one of my favorites for sure. Loved the whole how he came back from the war and didnt really know what to do. Tobey played the part well I thought. The part where he had the gun in the kitchen was pretty crazy as well.

 

[Poetic Chaos]

WTF!

C'mon, all that balloon grinding! Not to mention she said the exact wrong thing to her dad to push him over the edge. What a little *****.

 

[Hunter Rider]

C'mon, all that balloon grinding! Not to mention she said the exact wrong thing to her dad to push him over the edge. What a little *****.

She's an 8 year old little girl for chrissake, she has been through hell, first her father is never around, then he's dead and she finds solace in her uncle, then her father returns acting like a paranoid psycho and intimidating his two little girls, then her hope for a normal life who makes her Mom happy shows up with another woman, she's confused and scared, it's the other side of the coin, the families of those who come back from war suffer equally to those that were there.

 

[DACrowe]

glad to see people talking about this again. It was honestly one of my favorite movies of 2009. It 's narrative was very simple and did not have any real twists or anything....but it was a simple and moving story told with three strong performances. IMO Maguire and Portman gave two of the year's best and are being sorely overlooked. Gyllenhaal only had small material to work with, but was good with it. Sam Shepard was also really good in his small role, as were the daughters.

It was just a really good, sad and ultimately hopeful movie that raises questions about the war, without getting political and beating you over the head about it. Classy.

 

[DACrowe]

glad to see people talking about this again. It was honestly one of my favorite movies of 2009. It 's narrative was very simple and did not have any real twists or anything....but it was a simple and moving story told with three strong performances. IMO Maguire and Portman gave two of the year's best and are being sorely overlooked. Gyllenhaal only had small material to work with, but was good with it. Sam Shepard was also really good in his small role, as were the daughters.

It was just a really good, sad and ultimately hopeful movie that raises questions about the war, without getting political and beating you over the head about it. Classy.