Brothers

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Brothers

R

Released Dec 4, 2009

1h 44m

Drama

War

Mystery & Thriller

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

63%

Tomatometer

156 Reviews

62%

Popcornmeter

100,000+ Ratings

Siblings Sam (Tobey Maguire) and Tommy Cahill (Jake Gyllenhaal) are as far apart as brothers can be; while Sam serves his country as a Marine, Tommy is a drifter who just got out of prison. When Sam is shot down and presumed dead in Afghanistan, Tommy vows to take care of Sam's wife, Grace (Natalie Portman), and his children. Tommy and Grace become close, and when Sam unexpectedly returns home, the consequences of their actions threaten the foundation of the entire family.

Critics Consensus

It plays more like a traditional melodrama than the Susanne Bier film that inspired it, but Jim Sheridan's Brothers benefits from rock-solid performances by its three leads.

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Ed Koch

The Atlantic

Although Brothers is not a first-rate film, it informs us about the after-effects of war and is worth seeing while we wait for better ones to come along.

Jan 16, 2018

Full Review

Candice Frederick

Reel Talk Online

... subtly yet brilliantly captures one soldier's fight to end the war in his mind months after leaving the battlefield.

Rated: A

Sep 12, 2017

Full Review

Laura Kern

Film Comment Magazine

Anyone fond of Danish director Susanne Bier's 2004 original should steer clear of this ill-advised though faithful remake by Jim Sheridan.

Sep 24, 2014

Full Review

Richard Crouse

Richard Crouse

Isn't a war movie. It's a movie about what happens after war, and in its own quiet way shows the toll war takes on not only the people overseas but those who stay home as well.

Rated: 4/5

Jan 31, 2021

Full Review

Richard Propes

TheIndependentCritic.com

Bier's original film, which was a ballsier, more political and far grittier take on this story, carried with it a heavier, more universal tone.

Rated: 3.0/4.0

Sep 4, 2020

Full Review

Micheal Compton

Bowling Green Daily News

The entire cast is first-rate, especially Maguire, who shows a lot of range in a really difficult role.

Rated: B

May 11, 2019

Full Review

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thiago s

Filme mais ou menos, o roteiro é fraco, o filme tem cenas de drama boas que melhoram o filme, a atuação do tobey maguire melhora o filme e dá uma certa relevância para o filme, o elenco é bom e ajuda a melhorar o filme, e a história é bacaninha, mas faltou várias cenas para melhorar mais ainda o filme.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

03/21/25

Full Review

James J

I love Tobey Maguire but he was a horrible casting choice for this role. You can't see him as anything else than Spiderman, and you can't take him seriously in this role. I was literally laughing out loud at certain points that were supposed to extremely dark and serious, just because Tobey is such a meme in today's culture. And also, even without the whole previous association with Spiderman, Tobey is not remotely believable as a hardened soldier. He's scrawny as hell with a high pitched voice that cracks like friggin Seinfeld. His entire vibe is diffidence, and trying to force his square peg into the round hole of this role is unintentionally hilarious. A better casting choice would have improved this movie, but it would still be mediocre at best. The dialogue is formulaic and the tone is kind of all over the place. Natalie Portman is really hot though, so there's that.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

03/16/25

Full Review

Obi-wan K

Decent ngl

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

12/16/24

Full Review

selinay k

Oyunculuk gayet iyi ama sanki kurgu da boşluklar var gibi ortalama bir film, Jake Gyllenhaal öylece dursa da izleyebilirim:)

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

12/11/24

Full Review

Audience Member

pretty damn intense! all the actors give such good performances the movie is alot different from what you'd normally see in a war film it lets you understand how the war can cost not only life, but family and the fragileness of your inner existence

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

12/06/24

Full Review

Thomas S

A movie about PTSD and how war can change people. The acting of the girl playing Isabelle was insane. But unfortunately, only few scenes sticking out as a whole.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

11/05/24

Full Review

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Jim Sheridan

Director

Tobey Maguire

Sam Cahill

Jake Gyllenhaal

Tommy Cahill

Natalie Portman

Grace Cahill

Sam Shepard

Hank Cahill

Bailee Madison

Isabelle Cahill

Brothers: Official Clip - Kill or Be Killed

2:12

Brothers: Official Clip - Sam Loses It

1:37

Brothers: Official Clip - I Wish You Stayed Dead!

2:16

Brothers: Official Clip - Give Me the Keys

1:55

Brothers: Official Clip - He's Dead, Tommy

1:33

Brothers: Official Clip - The Truth Comes Out

1:48

Brothers: Official Clip - A Family Matter

2:18

Brothers: Official Clip - Making the First Move

2:19

Brothers: Official Clip - Family Dinner

1:55

Brothers: Official Clip - Did You Sleep With My Wife?

2:12

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Synopsis

Siblings Sam (Tobey Maguire) and Tommy Cahill (Jake Gyllenhaal) are as far apart as brothers can be; while Sam serves his country as a Marine, Tommy is a drifter who just got out of prison. When Sam is shot down and presumed dead in Afghanistan, Tommy vows to take care of Sam's wife, Grace (Natalie Portman), and his children. Tommy and Grace become close, and when Sam unexpectedly returns home, the consequences of their actions threaten the foundation of the entire family.

Director: Jim Sheridan
Producer: Michael De Luca, Ryan Kavanaugh, Sigurjon Sighvatsson
Screenwriter: David Benioff
Distributor: Lionsgate Films
Production Co: Sighvatsson Films, Relativity, Michael De Luca
Rating: R (Some Disturbing Violent Conten|Language)
Genre: Drama, War, Mystery & Thriller
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 4, 2009, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Dec 23, 2011
Box Office (Gross USA): $28.5M
Runtime: 1h 44m
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital, DTS