Official Movie Website Theatrical Release 12/04/09 Home Video Not Available MPAA Rating Rated R for language and some disturbing violent content Running Time 1 hour 50 minutes Genre War, Drama Director Jim Sheridan Writer David Benioff Cast Natalie Portman, Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal, Bailee Madison, Taylor Geare, Patrick Flueger, Sam Shepard, Mare Winningham, Clifton Collins Jr., Josh Berry Studio Lionsgate/MGM |
BROTHERS (2009)
SYNOPSIS
When a decorated Marine goes missing overseas, his
black-sheep younger brother cares for his wife and
children at home—with consequences that will shake
the foundation of the entire family.
BROTHERS tells the powerful story of two siblings,
thirtysomething Captain Sam Cahill (Tobey Maguire)
and younger brother Tommy Cahill (Jake Gyllenhaal),
who are polar opposites. A Marine about to embark on
his fourth tour of duty, Sam is a steadfast family man
married to his high school sweetheart, the aptly named
Grace (Natalie Portman), with whom he has two young
daughters (Bailee Madison, Taylor Grace Geare).
Tommy, his charismatic younger brother, is a drifter
just out of jail who’s always gotten by on wit and
charm. He slides easily into his role as family
provocateur on his first night out of prison, at Sam’s
farewell dinner with their parents, Elsie (Mare
Winningham) and Hank Cahill (Sam Shepard), a retired
Marine.
Shipped out to Afghanistan, Sam is presumed dead
when his Black Hawk helicopter is shot down in the
mountains. At home in suburbia, the Cahill family
suddenly faces a shocking void, and Tommy tries to fill
in for his brother by assuming newfound responsibility
for himself, Grace, and the children.
When a decorated Marine goes missing overseas, his
black-sheep younger brother cares for his wife and
children at home—with consequences that will shake
the foundation of the entire family.
BROTHERS tells the powerful story of two siblings,
thirtysomething Captain Sam Cahill (Tobey Maguire)
and younger brother Tommy Cahill (Jake Gyllenhaal),
who are polar opposites. A Marine about to embark on
his fourth tour of duty, Sam is a steadfast family man
married to his high school sweetheart, the aptly named
Grace (Natalie Portman), with whom he has two young
daughters (Bailee Madison, Taylor Grace Geare).
Tommy, his charismatic younger brother, is a drifter
just out of jail who’s always gotten by on wit and
charm. He slides easily into his role as family
provocateur on his first night out of prison, at Sam’s
farewell dinner with their parents, Elsie (Mare
Winningham) and Hank Cahill (Sam Shepard), a retired
Marine.
Shipped out to Afghanistan, Sam is presumed dead
when his Black Hawk helicopter is shot down in the
mountains. At home in suburbia, the Cahill family
suddenly faces a shocking void, and Tommy tries to fill
in for his brother by assuming newfound responsibility
for himself, Grace, and the children.
© 2003 St. Louis Movie Review Weekly. All rights reserved, except where indicated.
All movie titles, pictures, etc...are the property of their respective studios.
All movie titles, pictures, etc...are the property of their respective studios.
| ST. LOUIS MOVIE REVIEW WEEKLY |
But Sam is not dead; he and a fellow soldier have been captured by Taliban fighters. In Afghanistan’s
harsh, remote Pamir Mountains, Sam is subjected to traumas that threaten to rob him of his very
humanity. At the same time that Sam’s sense of self is being destroyed overseas, Tommy’s self-image is
strengthening at home. And in the grief and strangeness of their new lives, Grace and Tommy are
naturally drawn together. Their longstanding frostiness dissolves, but both are frightened and ashamed of
the mutual attraction that has replaced it.
When Sam unexpectedly returns to the States, a nervous mood settles over the family. Sam,
uncharacteristically withdrawn and volatile, grows suspicious of his brother and his wife. Their familiar
roles now nearly reversed, Sam and Tommy end up facing the ultimate physical and mental challenge
when they confront each other. In the shifting family dynamics, who will dominate? And how will the
brothers come to terms with issues of love, loyalty, and manhood—and with the woman caught between
them?
Lionsgate and Relativity Media proudly present the riveting family drama BROTHERS, directed by six-time
Oscar® nominee Jim Sheridan (IN AMERICA, IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER), from a screenplay by David
Benioff (THE KITE RUNNER, STAY, TROY), and starring Natalie Portman, Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal,
Sam Shepard, Mare Winningham, Bailee Madison, and Taylor Grace Geare. The producers are Ryan
Kavanaugh, Joni Sighvatsson, and Michael De Luca. Executive producers are Tucker Tooley and Zach
Schiff-Abrams, with co-executive producer Jeremiah Samuels. BROTHERS is based on the Danish film
BRØDRE by Susanne Bier and Anders Thomas Jensen.
Sheridan’s prior films have garnered 16 Academy Award® nominations and won two Academy Awards,
for lead actors Daniel Day Lewis and Brenda Fricker in MY LEFT FOOT: THE STORY OF CHRISTY BROWN.
Sheridan has personally been nominated six times, for writing the screenplay of IN AMERICA; for writing,
directing, and producing the best-picture nominee IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER; and for writing and
directing MY LEFT FOOT. --© Lionsgate
harsh, remote Pamir Mountains, Sam is subjected to traumas that threaten to rob him of his very
humanity. At the same time that Sam’s sense of self is being destroyed overseas, Tommy’s self-image is
strengthening at home. And in the grief and strangeness of their new lives, Grace and Tommy are
naturally drawn together. Their longstanding frostiness dissolves, but both are frightened and ashamed of
the mutual attraction that has replaced it.
When Sam unexpectedly returns to the States, a nervous mood settles over the family. Sam,
uncharacteristically withdrawn and volatile, grows suspicious of his brother and his wife. Their familiar
roles now nearly reversed, Sam and Tommy end up facing the ultimate physical and mental challenge
when they confront each other. In the shifting family dynamics, who will dominate? And how will the
brothers come to terms with issues of love, loyalty, and manhood—and with the woman caught between
them?
Lionsgate and Relativity Media proudly present the riveting family drama BROTHERS, directed by six-time
Oscar® nominee Jim Sheridan (IN AMERICA, IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER), from a screenplay by David
Benioff (THE KITE RUNNER, STAY, TROY), and starring Natalie Portman, Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal,
Sam Shepard, Mare Winningham, Bailee Madison, and Taylor Grace Geare. The producers are Ryan
Kavanaugh, Joni Sighvatsson, and Michael De Luca. Executive producers are Tucker Tooley and Zach
Schiff-Abrams, with co-executive producer Jeremiah Samuels. BROTHERS is based on the Danish film
BRØDRE by Susanne Bier and Anders Thomas Jensen.
Sheridan’s prior films have garnered 16 Academy Award® nominations and won two Academy Awards,
for lead actors Daniel Day Lewis and Brenda Fricker in MY LEFT FOOT: THE STORY OF CHRISTY BROWN.
Sheridan has personally been nominated six times, for writing the screenplay of IN AMERICA; for writing,
directing, and producing the best-picture nominee IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER; and for writing and
directing MY LEFT FOOT. --© Lionsgate
