Brothers (2009)
Brothers
This is officially the first movie I’ve seen in 2023, and it definitely doesn’t start off the year on a happy note. The tone of this movie is pretty dark and confusing, as it centers around the effects of war. The movie does a fantastic job of looking into PTSD. It shows how it doesn’t hurt just the soldier, but their family and household. It’s not something you really think about, but this movie really opens your eyes to it. The story is pretty good, and though it starts off a bit slow to me, it dives into the main plot after a few minutes and brings up several important issues. It was also nice having a movie that not only shows the physical act of war, but how it affects everyone at home. It goes back and forth between the domestic problems and the POW problem, which constantly kept the movie in a dark tone, even in the more lighthearted scenes. In the last 20 or so minutes of the movie, that’s when everything goes down. Although depressing and disturbing, it’s still powerful, and speaks out to you. Like I said, the problem of PTSD is really presented to you. Tobey Maguire absolutely makes this movie what it was, and he gives one of the best performances I’ve seen. He’s able to keep a calm demeanor (until the end), but still show you how he’s being torn up by his experiences. He was the perfect pick for his role, and I think very, very few other actors could’ve done what he did. Everyone else was great, but Tobey really takes the spotlight. Natalie Portman and Jake Gyllenhaal also did an awesome job. They added a lot of emotion to their characters and the story, which helped intensify a lot of the scenes. There was so much tension in this movie, but it helps you realize what is really happening. They all help push the deep message across, and once the movie is done, you’re left wondering and thinking about everything that happened. It’s also scary because these things happen in real life, every day. Therefore, the movie seems to hit harder than most, even if you can’t relate. Overall, this was a disturbing but powerful movie, and I think you should watch this at least once before you die. This film is officially Berry Approved, so go watch it now!