Brothers

Though it may be a little flat, this American-style “hardcore psychology” is emotionally strong. The actors are in sync and you believe their every word; the tense scenes in Iraq are impressive and the ending is moving. And Natalie Portman's character is every man’s dream wife. (26.01.2010)

Great acting is what it's all about. Unlike the author of the original version, Susanne Bier, the experienced Jim Sheridan unequivocally opted for a fluent and orthodox melodramatic style – the film Brothers is crafted and tight, is able to hit the first signal precisely, but after watching the film, a strange emptiness remains. The film hides nothing under its pretty facade except for a kind of careful pacifism and simple psychology. The music by U2 goes well with it. The fact that it’s well made and has decent moral appeals is easily interchangeable with ideological neutrality. (07.02.2010)

Jim Sheridan approached it cleverly. He doesn't turn the cold atmosphere of the original film into emotional blackmail, but still doesn't want to immerse the viewer in the same filth as the characters. He maintains a reasonable distance with a creatively crafted soundtrack and warm camera work, and surprisingly wins the battle against comparison to the original. The original Brothers and their all-encompassing depression lost strength at certain moments, but here the irretrievable loss of idyll due to its more honest depiction is even more fatal. 85% (09.02.2010)

All three leads in this movie are showing off here that they work hard for their actor’s wages. The movie is a very nice intimate drama where I'm just not very happy with the ending, so I guess that's why I'm giving it 3 stars. The trailer was a bit misleading for me, I was assuming things that never happened, which is quite a shame because I kind of wished they had (when you see it you’ll understand). I haven't seen the original film, and I don't want to see it. This was enough for me. Maybe I'm just a little more disappointed because I was looking forward to it so much. So – if you want to see some human pain, some human happiness, enjoyable performances by the actors, and a shitty war, this movie is made for you. It's just quite possible that you'll be annoyed at times by the over-smart little girls, but that's become such a trend now, so you just had to get used to it. (11.01.2010)

Even though I didn’t watch the Danish original, I was able to figure out how the story would develop after ten minutes or so, and that’s pretty much all I can criticise Brothers for. A strong topic, excellent direction and brilliant performances by the main trio. Some of the final scenes strongly reminded me of last year’s performances of Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in Revolutionary Road. Maguire’s character gave me goosebumps several times and I can imagine him in a psychological horror film. Strong four stars. (30.12.2009)