.: Roberts' Reviews - Movie Reviews :.

When Captain Sam Cahill's (Tobey Maguire) helicopter is shot down in Afghanistan, his wife Grace (Natalie Portman) and family are prematurely informed that he didn't survive. However, Sam was taken hostage by Taliban forces and kept hidden and psychologically tortured. Grace is able to take comfort in Sam's brother, Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal), a recently paroled convict who was always the family's black sheep.

But when Sam is found alive by allied forces and returns to his suburban life, the changes and emotions that have formed between all three leading characters will eventually lead to an outdoor confrontation with the two brothers that is as intense as it is heartbreaking.

Brothers was directed by Jim Sheridan, an under appreciated director of such films as My Left Foot, In America and In the Name of the Father. Sheridan's movies are strong character films and Brothers is no deviation from his consistent path.

In fact, I could make a strong argument that the acting by Portman, Maguire and Gyllenhaal is the best of any American made film in 2009 (sorry, Up in the Air). Each of these young actors show sides and vulnerabilities that have not been explored in their distinguished resumes. Gyllenhaal in particular is superb as the trying-to-do-right Tommy. He transforms from a prisoner and an outsider with this own family to a provider for the grieving Grace. When he has to abort his own feelings for Grace and her children he is conflicted and torn between his happiness and the good of the family.

Equally terrific is Mcguire is fully removed from the Peter Parker persona for which he is most recognized. When Sam returns from Afghanistan, the stress and situations to which he was involved in the Middle East have effects on his personality and mental stability. Mcguire at times looks downright possessed as a tormented civilian. An elongated scene where the reunited family is having a birthday dinner shows us an increasingly infuriated Sam whose mental state leads to acts of violence.

There is not a bad note in Brothers worthy of reviewer's notes. The performances are spot on and the story is both topical and even controversial. Sheridan squeezes the screenplay by David Benioff for everything that it's worth, and its value is pure gold. The plot lines might not take you down paths of traditional drama comforts, but the acting will leave you believing and rooting for all those involved.