Brothers (2009/I)

Director:

Jim Sheridan

Writers (WGA):

David Benioff (screenplay)
Susanne Bier (motion picture "Brødre") ...

Release Date:

4 December 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller | War

Tagline:

There are two sides to every family

Plot:

A young man comforts his older brother's wife and children after he goes missing in Afghanistan. |

Plot Keywords:

Afghanistan | Girl | Husband Wife Relationship | Tears | Crying

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Golden Globes. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Jake Gyllenhaal	...	Tommy Cahill
Natalie Portman	...	Grace Cahill
Tobey Maguire	...	Capt. Sam Cahill
Clifton Collins Jr.	...	Major Cavazos
Bailee Madison	...	Isabelle Cahill
Sam Shepard	...	Hank Cahill
Mare Winningham	...	Elsie Cahill
Taylor Geare	...	Maggie Cahill
Patrick Flueger	...	Private Joe Willis
Jenny Wade	...	Tina
Carey Mulligan	...	Cassie Willis
Omid Abtahi	...	Yusuf
Navid Negahban	...	Murad
Ethan Suplee	...	Sweeney
Arron Shiver	...	A.J.

MPAA:

Rated R for language and some disturbing violent content.

Runtime:

105 min | USA:110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14A (Alberta/Manitoba/Ontario) | Canada:PG (British Columbia) | Ireland:15A | UK:15 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Abiquiu, New Mexico, USA

Company:

Michael De Luca Productions

Trivia:

Carey Mulligan mentioned in an interview at the Sundance Festival that she got the role after sending an audition tape to America; when they shot her scenes, it was at about 3.00am, and it was largely improvised (something she enjoyed). She called it a "trial by fire".

Goofs:

Factual errors: In the beginning, dated in the movie as 10/7/2007, Sam says he's leaving "in 4 days" (10/11/07). Later, at the dinner table, he tells his brother he's leaving "Tuesday". 10/11/2007 was a Thursday.

Quotes:

Sam Cahill: I have to go. He's my brother.
Grace Cahill: He doesn't deserve you.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Funny People (2009)

Soundtrack:

I've Been Working on the Railroad

Yet another copy of a Dnish film

Honestly, sometimes it's just better watching the original with sub-titles. The film is a US version of a Danish film called the same. While the actors and script run pretty true, the realism seems to be lost in this American version, while the original Danish version seemed to keep me grounded to the reality of it all. Sometimes larger budgets really don't produce better results. It seems to me that the Hollywood set have started running out of ideas for films, and have simply started creating US versions of successful foreign films, REC, Nattevagten, and now Brødre, all seem to be taken into the US movie grinder, and more often than not, they loose the originality of the original film. Worth see as the story itself is very good, but in all honesty, I recommend seeing the original.