Brothers

20092009
K-13K-13
1h 45min

Natalie Portman, Tobey Maguire, and Jake Gyllenhaal in Brothers (2009)

Sam Cahill (Maguire) returns from being held as a prisoner-of-war in Afghanistan to find that his ex-con brother (Gyllenhaal) has become the man, of sorts, of the household where Sam's wife, Grace (Portman) had been living under the assumption that she was a widow.

Play trailer2:02

Action Drama Thriller

While on tour in Afghanistan, Sam's copter is shot down and he is presumed dead. Back home, it is his screw-up brother who looks after the family. Sam does return, but with a lot of excess b... Read allWhile on tour in Afghanistan, Sam's copter is shot down and he is presumed dead. Back home, it is his screw-up brother who looks after the family. Sam does return, but with a lot of excess baggage.While on tour in Afghanistan, Sam's copter is shot down and he is presumed dead. Back home, it is his screw-up brother who looks after the family. Sam does return, but with a lot of excess baggage.

Director
- Jim Sheridan
Writers
- David Benioff(screenplay)
- Susanne Bier(motion picture "Brødre")
- Anders Thomas Jensen(motion picture "Brødre")
Stars

See production, box office & company info

See more at IMDbPro

Awards
- 4 wins & 16 nominations

Natalie Portman and Tobey Maguire in Brothers (2009)

Natalie Portman, Bailee Madison, and Taylor Geare in Brothers (2009)

Natalie Portman, Tobey Maguire, Bailee Madison, and Taylor Geare in Brothers (2009)

Mare Winningham and Jake Gyllenhaal in Brothers (2009)

Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal in Brothers (2009)

Sam Shepard, Mare Winningham, and Jake Gyllenhaal in Brothers (2009)

Tobey Maguire, Jim Sheridan, and Jake Gyllenhaal in Brothers (2009)

Natalie Portman and Jake Gyllenhaal in Brothers (2009)

Natalie Portman and Bailee Madison in Brothers (2009)

Tobey Maguire in Brothers (2009)

Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal in Brothers (2009)

Natalie Portman and Jake Gyllenhaal in Brothers (2009)

Director
- Jim Sheridan
Writers
- David Benioff(screenplay)
- Susanne Bier(motion picture "Brødre")
- Anders Thomas Jensen(motion picture "Brødre")
All cast & crew
See more cast details at IMDbPro

Before leaving on his second tour in Afghanistan, Marine Captain Sam Cahill, a leader, an athlete, a good husband and father, welcomes his screw-up brother Tommy home from prison. He'd robbed a bank. In country, Sam's helicopter is shot down and all are presumed dead. Back home, while Sam wastes away as a prisoner in a remote encampment, Tommy tries to take care of the widow and her two children. While imprisoned, Sam experiences horrors unbearable, so when he's rescued and returns home, he's silent, detached, without affect, and he's convinced his wife and brother have slept together. Demons of war possess him; what will silence them? —<jhailey@hotmail.com>

afghanistan presumed dead marine grief prisoner 97 more

Taglines
- There are two sides to every family
Genres
Certificate
- K-13
Parents guide

Trivia
Jake Gyllenhaal learned of the death of his close friend Heath Ledger while he was in the middle of shooting a scene for this film. Gyllenhaal immediately walked off set, and returned to finish the scene two days later. He then took a longer bereavement leave before he was ready to continue with the rest of his scenes.

Goofs
The movie gives the location of the Marine Base as "Fort Mahlus". Only the US Army begins their bases with "Fort" (i.e. Fort Benning, Fort Bragg, etc). The US Marines begin their bases with "Camp" (i.e. Camp Pendleton, Camp Lejeune, etc).

Quotes
Sam Cahill: I'm drowning, Tommy.

Connections
Featured in Late Show with David Letterman: Episode #17.52 (2009)

Soundtracks
Rocky Mountain Man
Written by David Manzanares
Performed by David James
Published and Recorded by David Manzanares (BMI)

Top review

9/10

Guilt and Forgiveness

Two brothers, one returning from prison, one heading as a Marine to Afghanistan.

This film is apparently a remake of a Danish film that had the same story line.

But it didn't have Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal! Maguire reaches into the darkest corners of his soul to flesh out the good brother, the Marine, who returns from Afghanistan with a staggering burden of guilt.

Gyllenhaal is amazing, transforming an angry, unsure ex-con into a believable figure of redemption, slowly growing before our eyes as the story unfolds.

Natalie Portman is excellent and look for Carey Mulligan's four minutes of screen time.

This is not an anti-war film except in the sense that any film that shows war either glorifies it unrealistically or jars us into questioning, if it is realistic. The scenes in Afghanistan seem authentic. The tortures are not so so graphic as some of the other reviews imply. They will cause you to wince, but its good film making, not microscopic detail.

I want to search out Susanne Bier's 2005 film "Broedre"--it can't lessen the impact of this one, however.

helpful•93

43

bobt145
Dec 4, 2009

Is 'Brothers' based on a book?

Release date
- March 19, 2010 (Finland)
Country of origin
- United States
Official site
- Vidio (Indonesia)
Language
- English
Also known as
- Veljekset
Filming locations
- Glorieta, New Mexico, USA
Production companies
See more company credits at IMDbPro

Budget
- $26,000,000 (estimated)
Gross US & Canada
- $28,544,157
Opening weekend US & Canada
- $9,527,848
- Dec 6, 2009
Gross worldwide
- $43,474,578

See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

Runtime
- 1h 45min
Color
- Color
Sound mix
- Dolby Digital
- DTS
Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1

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