Review of Brothers

There is not one single new, insightful, or even particularly interesting thought in this film on the subject of either war or brothers, and yet fine performances by Natalie Portman and a Jake Gyllenhaal who does an amazing job of acting with his face, eyes, and body (he is, in many scenes, all but mute) make it compelling and even moving. (Tobey Maquire, meanwhile, is horribly miscast and is most unbelievable, unfortunately, when his character is most emotional: in his bug-eyed rage or evil-faced desperation, he makes you laugh or look away in embarrassment. The fact that he is also as pencil-necked as a 10th-grade chess champion doesn't help make him convincing as a gung-ho marine.) **SPOILERS FOLLOW**: What saves this film is the fact that it doesn't end in the typical blood bath or orgy of tragic domestic violence, which is what generally comes of the heavy-handed anti-war equation "war turns men into animals." Instead, there's a ray of hope, a possibility, a question at least. "Can I re-enter the land of the living?" Maguire's character wonders near the end. The movie doesn't answer, but it gets major points for asking.