Brothers Movie Review

Brothers (2009)

Rent Brothers on Amazon Video
Written by: David Benioff (screenplay), Susanne Bier and Anders Thomas Jensen (motion picture "Brødre")
Directed by: Jim Sheridan
Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman, Tobey Maguire, Sam Shepard, Clifton Collins Jr., Carey Mulligan, Ethan Suplee
Rated: R
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Plot
A young man comforts his older brother's wife and children after he goes missing in Afghanistan.

Verdict
While this looks at an extreme situation of a soldier dealing with a form of PTSD, this also examines the rivalry between brothers and effective parenting. When his over-achieving brother is killed in combat, the black sheep of the family does an admirable job of helping the widow and family left behind. The movie doesn't address this directly, but you being thinking he was a black sheep due to poor, or at least misguided, parenting. These elements are completely off screen, but help create more than a few intense scenes.
So much of what's intriguing happens off screen. This is as much a look at parenting as it is about a POW. It's an aspect ignored in the conclusion of the film, but I found it the most fascinating.
Watch it.

Review
This movie is full of tension. One of the first scenes is a family dinner with military officer Sam and his family, fresh out of jail Tommy, and Sam & Tommy's parents. The dad is giving Tommy a hard time, really twisting the knife and we're waiting for things to break. You get the feeling that Tommy became the black sheep early on and that just a little bit of encouragement could go a long way. Tommy's probably been hearing how great Sam is since they were kids, and that's enough to make anyone rebellious.

When Sam is suspected of being killed in combat, Tommy helps Sam's wife Grace and two young children. While Grace didn't initially like Tommy, she slowly sees something good in him. I got the sense that Tommy acted out for attention and any attention was good. Tommy has lived in his all-star brother's shadow for decades. Tommy isn't a bad person. He's rough around the edges, but he never had a chance to display his good qualities, always overshadowed by Sam. I suppose Tommy acted out just to distinguish himself from Sam and counter the requests from his father to be more like Sam. Sam was obviously the favorite of their father. Without Sam around, Tommy flourishes.

The movie is bolstered by great performances from Maguire, Gyllenhaal, and Portman. Of course the script is very good, some of the small moments of friends joking around feels very authentic.

Sam wasn't killed. He was captured, facing a terrible situation and forced to make life altering choices. He can't admit to anyone what happened during his imprisonment, and it's having a terrible effect on him.
With Sam back, Tommy leaves Grace and the kids alone despite the kids really enjoying the time spent with him. They even admit to Grace they like Tommy better than their dad who is a different person since his return.

Sam is unhinged, and you know it will only get worse. He suspects Grace cheated on him with Tommy. This comes to a point during a birthday dinner. One of Sam's kids, Isabelle, has a balloon, and the squeaking annoys Sam. I was afraid of what was going to happen.
Isabelle feels like shes' living in her sister's shadow which is why she and Tommy were able to develop such a connection. When Sam berates Isabelle about the balloon, she knows even as a child how to prey on Sam's worst fears. It's her getting back at Sam, and though she tells a lie, it could have horrific consequences. This scene is so full of dread as we wait for that moment where Sam snaps.

That sense of dread only gets worse. I wasn't sure how this was going to end. It seemed likely someone was going to be killed. Sam is wracked with guilt from what happened overseas, and he's taking that out on his family. I wasn't sure if Sam was going to kill his family, Tommy, or himself.

While this has a focus on Sam and his experiences, I was intrigued by the family aspect. Tommy's parents raised two good young men even if Tommy did spend time jail. His issue is neglect, and Sam's daughter Isabelle seems to be suffering from the same thing. She and Tommy are similar, living in the shadow of a sibling who seems better at everything else. The movie doesn't address this but it seems that Sam may be parenting in a manner he learned from his father, which isn't the most effective. That method is part of the reason Sam's daughter made those reactions and ostensibly why Tommy spent time in jail. There's a lot going on outside the lines of this movie and it's a fascinating foray into the psychology of the characters.