Friday, December 4, 2009

Brothers and Brødre

Has anyone ever remade a film that you absolutely love? It can be odd to remove yourself from the familiar original while watching the shiny and new. Presumably not many people will have this problem with Brothers though I’ll admit up front that I did. This new war-at-home drama is adapted from a little seen Danish film of the same name. Natalie Portman plays Grace Cahill, a young mother and wife whose husband Sam (Tobey Maguire) has been assumed dead in Afghanistan. We know that he actually survived but Grace doesn’t and in the fog of grief discovers budding feelings for her brother-in-law Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal), an ex-con, who begins to bloom when he takes over as man of the house. When Sam returns from war, with post traumatic stress problems, serious complications, tears and family drama arrive with him.

...more in my weekly column at Towleroad
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