Brothers – Post Viewing Review

What can I say about the movie Brothers with Natalie Portman, Jake Gyllenhaal and Tobey Maguire except, you can actually wait until on DVD to see it.

The story is about a soldier, Captain Sam Cahill (Tobey Maguire) who goes to Afghanistan and is soon MIA, so basically he is considered and reported dead to family members. As a result of the news, his wife Grace (Natalie Portman) allows the other brother Tommy (Jake Gylleenhaal) to help around the house and her two daughters until news arrives that Sam is alive and ready to return home.

I guess what would be predictable is that Grace and Tommy fall in love and get sexually involved so that when Sam returns, it would be very difficult for them to part ways. However, the movie did not really go there and somehow left you feeling cheated with the story. Grace and Tommy handled their relationship very casually and almost without chemistry and worked together to take care of the kids as innocently as possible. When Sam returned, of course traumatised by the events he dealt with in Afghanistan, had a hard time adjusting to life and the assumption his brother was sleeping with his wife.

From that point on it was a complete disaster and the acting very unconvincing and poor. Portman, being a gifted actor failed at delivering her part in this movie. It was very difficult to see her as a mother first of all and second, for some reason she lacked the proper drama to handle this particular role. Maguire and Gyllenhaal did their part to keep the story afloat but overall, with poor acting and a boring storyline, this movie is really not what you would expect or hope that it could have been.

Save your 20.00 dollars and wait for Netflix if you must see this movie.