Review of "Brothers," DVD movie

 Review of

 Brothers, DVD movie

Five out of five stars

 Brutality witnessed makes deep changes in people

  This movie is a powerful tale that has no happy ending, it really gives nothing that leaves you feeling good or with a sense of closure. Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Sam (Tobey Maguire) are brothers and their father is an ex-marine that served in Vietnam. Sam is a marine that is deployed to Afghanistan while Tommy is generally a drunken scoundrel that is considered a failure by their father. Grace (Natalie Portman) is Sam’s wife and she also has a low opinion of Tommy. Sam also has two very young daughters that he is devoted to.

 When Sam is lost and presumed dead in Afghanistan, Tommy steps up and acts as a father to Sam’s girls and does other things for Grace, showing that he cares about their problems. After some time Sam is rescued from the Taliban base and comes back a very changed man. Even though nothing sexual happened between Tommy and Grace, Sam believes that they had sex and he is also haunted by the demons of the war and his captivity.

 The performances here are outstanding, especially that of Maguire, his rendition of the tortured soul with the face and eye movements and even the spit flying as he rages mesmerizes you as you wait for a terrible disaster to happen.

From the people that I have known before and after their war experiences, (Vietnam mostly) what this movie depicts is no exaggeration. If there were an Oscar for the most realistic movie, this would win it hands down. Politicians should watch it before they send their nation’s young people off to war so that they understand the psychological damage war can inflict.