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BROTHERS |
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Just so we are clear, "Brothers" is a straight up Americanization of Susanne Bier's 2004
"Brodre". You may remember Bier from her last English speaking film "Things We Lost in the Fire" with
Halle Berry in 2007. If you don't remember, that's okay, it was a monumental flop though I found it
quite good. That said, I'm not sure why director Jim Sheridan was chosen or decided
to remake "Brodre". Maybe there is a lack of faith in Bier - maybe Hollywood doesn't feel she can deliver
an American audience. Keep in mind that Sheridan's previous works included 50 Cent's
"Get Rich or Die Trying", "In America", and "In the Name of the Father". All three were quite good, but none
were exactly commercial successes. |
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Nevertheless, Bier DNA is all over "Brothers". It calls to question when can
a woman stop grieving and go on with her life. Is it proper to get busy with someone you are already familiar with; with
someone with whom physical pleasure might be considered taboo. In "Things We lost in the Fire", it was the old best friend of Halle Berry's late husband. Though he was a drug
addict, she found herself drawing comfort in his presence. Although they didn't have sex, they came close enough to raise questions. In "Brothers", we get a situation when Natalie Portman's character Grace is faced
with the assumption her husband Sam (Tobey Maguire) is killed in a helicopter accident while deployed in Afghanistan. Tommy is the good son. He is the favorite son of Hank Cahill (Sam Shepard) who was a military man. Sam's brother Tommy
(Jake Gyllenhaal) is a different story. He has just been released from prison right before his brothers deployment. |
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While Sam is/was by the book - a downright, forthright individual, Tommy is just a
notch above sleaze. But when word comes of Sams' presumed demise, Tommy opportunistically moves in to 'comfort' Grace and her children.
Children being children become attached to him as children tend to do with irresponsible adults. Grace is drawn in suing the
children as an excuse. Unlike, "Things We Lost in the Fire", she does have taboo sex with her husbands brother... again and again. But what do you know... Sam isn't dead. Instead he was captured by the Taliban who, during his captivity tortured him and
forced him to do dehumanizing things. When he returns to the states, he is not the same man he was when he left. He immediately knows that his brother has been knocking his wife's boots. His paranoia is acute enough to figure that out.
But now he's faced with a demented dilemma... what to do about it. It takes a while to get to that point, but that is the gist of the entire film. "Brothers" is well directed and well produced, but it doesn't take advantage of the situation. It's not dirty enough. There is not enough pain.
There is not enough anger or sense of revenge. With a younger cast than in "Brodre" I expected more umph! Uh, I'm still waiting. --GEOFFREY BURTON
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