Demona's Review

Summary - Great 4.0

Brothers is a film about Sam and Tommy Cahill. Sam is a Captain for the United States Marine Corp and Tommy is a slacker that all he does on his spare time is practically drink himself to death at any of the local bars. Sam is called overseas and has to leave his family behind. Now his wife, Grace; she’s the wife of a Marine Captain and mother of two little girls. She does what she can after Sam leaves; but when she gets the news of Sam’s helicopter crashing, she goes into a deep depression. Tommy comes to aide her with the girls and develops a crush. Then later they come to find that Sam is actually still alive after two months of being a slave in the middleast. After the whole ordeal and then coming home, Sam’s behavior towards his family is completely changed. He causes fear in his family and makes the mistake of thinking that his wife has been cheating on him with his brother. Tommy and Grace try time and again to reassure Sam that nothing was going on, but with his psychotic break, he listened to no one. After the police is called and he is sent to a VA hospital, he then decides to open up to Grace, explaining what has happened in his experience in the war.

Acting - Good 3.0

Tobey Maguire, Sam Cahill, plays an exceptional role. From beginning to end, Tobey portrays family man and soldier quite well. I thought that his role as “Sam” was a different kind of role for him. Jake Gyllenhaal, Tommy Cahill, did play the “slacker” and uncle pretty well. I’d have to admit though that for Tobey to protray the older sibling of the two, it was a little too far fetched with how young Maguire looks in comparasion to Gyllenhaal. Personally, I would’ve liked to have seen the roles reversed; Ithink that it would’ve made the film a little more relateable. Natalie Portman, Grace Cahill, stunning and motherly; though I would’ve perfered an older, more mature looking woman for the role, she did well as the grieving wife and mother of two. Those these areroles that neither have ever portrayed before, they did well; however, some characters should’ve been given to the other actors to make the story a little bit more understandable.

Film - Great 4.0

The film was well organized, from the time of year (Christmas) to the time of the wars in the middleast. The middleastern people were authentic and showed true babarism. The torture and the fear is protayed truthfully and made you think about those that are out in the military that are still being held, or have been held, as prisoners of war. It’s gut-wrenching and makes you want to pray for those that are fighting for the country they serve. The fact that they showed a desert with the blue tint to the actual camera, makes you see the people in their element and puts you in the shoes of the people involved. The costume design was true to form and, if you were in the military, you can definitely relate to the situations that are being shown to you throughout.

Edge - Sordid 3.0

The movie, I’d admit, is a bit risqué’. The preformances were pretty authentic for the times. The graphics (gore) were more portrayed in an Alfred Hitchcock manor; where, you don’t see much of what’s going on, but with the sounds of the screams and the fear and anger in the eyes of the people that is going through what they are, you can really feel the emotions running through the film. Thankfully, the violence is there, though not fully exposed, but you see the horror in the actors eyes. As a horror and thrill-seeking viewer of films, this may not have much of that, however, the film does show you that there is more to life and to the film, for that matter, that makes you think. I want others to watch this film with an open mind and open heart. You watch the film and you feel the pressure that the military goes through with having to leave their families to have to fight a war that make them come home completely different people.

Reality - Natural 1.0

The reality of the film I find to be true the “now”. The war in the middleast is continuing and you wonder about the men and women that fight out there and it makes you wonder how much they have changed from the whole ordeal. The people that is out there, fighting for their country, must have gone through or are going through some of the most intense situations that are beyond their control. How anyone can go through what “Sam” went through is beyond me. I have respect for people who go out into a bad situation and come home safely, but I also have just as much concern for those that come home completely changed from the people that they once were. Though this film is counted as a thriller, I find the film to be more of a suspense and a drama. A thriller has more gore and the “shock factor” is genuinely shown throughout the film; but in this film, the “shock factor” is minimum and there’s more drama that can be seen within the flick. Though, there are some gruesome parts of the film, you only have the appearance and not the actual showing of said “gruesomeness”, which gives the film that “little something extra.” So, all in all, if I could rate the film, from a scale of 1-10, I’d give the film a 7, for how everything just ties together.

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