Brothers

Is it legal to have an actor use meth in order to prepare for a role? I only ask because I’m not entirely sure how else to explain the how Tobey Maguire got to the way he looks like in the final act of Brothers. For that alone I would recommend this film, but there is still the strong story and performances by Natalie Portman and Jake Gyllenhaal to back up my recommendation.

I wouldn’t call the trailers and commercials for Brothers misleading, but they definitely glossed over the fact that nearly half of the screen time was taken up by Tobey’s time in Afghanistan. It was a strong plot point because it all hinged on what he was willing to do to get back to his family, but I wasn’t expecting a prisoner of war storyline. On top of that, the Portman/Gyllenhaal relastionship was also different than expected. I don’t really understand how these things can happen if the answer is not deliberate misleading of the audience. The story that was actually was still strong even if it does not match the trailer. The only thing that really disappointed me was the climax of the film. Everything was building to a truly dark ending but instead they pulled back at the last minute and it felt flat.

Brothers was a phenomenally well acted film. Natalie Portman may be one of my favorite actresses but she was phenomenal here and that is not my bias speaking. She moves seamlessly from crushed, to rebuilding, to terrified throughout the film. There was chemistry between both Portman/Gyllenhaal and Portman/Maguire. I wouldn't say Gyllenhaal and Maguire were playing completely against type but ex-con Gyllenhaal and mentally unstable Maguire felt new. They both pulled it off which lead to some fantastic scenes near the end of the film. Still wish it ended differently.

There are movies that are built entirely on performances and Brothers casted A-listers and left it up to them. The 3 stars all delivered top shelf work which makes the whole movie worth seeing.

8 out of 10