“Brothers” is a story of human characters made by a group of actors that are at the top of their game. Adding to this perception is a stoic but viciously pinpoint turn of Sam Shepard as the father to these two boys who is now remarried to a different woman than their mother who died. Another standout also permeates in the form of Bailee Madison as one of the young daughters of Portman and Maguire. She matches most of the grown up actors toe to toe without being presumptious. Like Jake, in my mind, she deserves an Oscar nomination for their work because it is so purely emotional. Source: insidereel.wordpress.com
Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal at 'Brothers' Q&A At The Arclight Theater, on 3rd December 2009."Sam's younger brother Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal), an ice-blue-eyed charmer who's fresh out of prison for bank robbery, but who redeems himself with his sister-in-law -- who never liked him -- by slowly discovering a responsible side.Meanwhile, back in Afghanistan, Sam isn't actually dead, just being tortured in a remote Taliban outpost.
When he's finally rescued and returns home months later, a gaunt, catatonic version of his former self, it's to a family he no longer recognizes, and that no longer recognizes him.
This is where the real movie begins. Or rather, it begins just before Sam's return, when something bad -- something real bad -- happens to Sam in Afghanistan. Something that turns him into the kind of monster that only war can create, and might leave you wondering if he wouldn't be better off dead. Sam certainly wonders that.
"Brothers" is the story of that monster, and his struggle to find his humanity.Is it a movie you'll enjoy? Not enjoy, so much as appreciate. Or maybe recognize". Source: www.washingtonpost.comInterviews with Jake Gyllenhaal, who plays Tommy Cahill in Brothers. 1. On his first reaction to the film. 2. On his personal connection to the character. 3. On Tobey Maguire. 4. On Natalie Portman. 5. On the relationship between Tommy and Sam. 6. On Sam Shepard. 7. On the relationship between Tommy and Hank".