Directed by Jim Sheridan
Starring Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman, Sam Shepard
Written by Cletus Van Dang
3.5 stars
Superb acting that totally redeemed the lackluster plot
Very few films that I’ve seen stay with me for hours and days after watching them. I didn’t expect much from director Jim Sheridan, as 
this is the first of his films I’ve seen, but with performances from his all-star cast which included Jake Gyllenhaal (Donnie Darko, Brokeback Mountain), Tobey Maguire (Spiderman), Sam Shepard (Black Hawk Down), and Natalie Portman (V for Vandetta), I was still talking about it to my wife two weeks later. This film is a true drama that reminds me of why I love this medium of entertainment so much.
Maguire plays Captain Sam Cahill, a marine who is deployed on his second tour in Afghanistan. When his helicopter is shot down and he is presumed dead, his brother Tommy (Gyllenhaal), recently released from prison, begins his slow task of changing his booze-filled lifestyle around to care for Sam’s wife (Portman) and two daughters. When Sam is suddenly found alive and is sent home, the family, along with Sam, must deal with the hell that he endured at war.
Who the heck knew that Tobey Maguire could act? His performance was the most surprising of all – I’ve never imagined him as anybody more than Peter Parker, let alone a soldier who has snapped. He has to make a life-altering decision as a POW, and when he makes it, the look on his face and his toe-curling scream demands praise and Oscar nominations. Every subsequent scene showcases his degeneration as a father and husband as it juxtaposes Tommy’s rise to embrace life, love, and brotherhood. Gyllenhaal’s performance is as good as it always has been, and the climax of the movie was so convincing that I literally had to hit the pause button just to take a breather before I could continue.
I loved it. I didn’t want the movie to end. There was a moderate amount of cussing and a few f-bombs that were used as, er, verbs. Please watch this movie. You’ll be glad you did.
