The War, At home and Abroad

1979 was the middle of the first wave of cinematic interpretations of the Vietnam War. "The Deer Hunter" was out (technically 1978)and it was the year of "Apocalypse Now" and "Coming Home". There was some heated debate about which of those two films was a more accurate and honest depiction of the War in Vietnam, or the effects thereof. The Oscar race that year was a hotbed for post-war political analysis. We have the same situation this year with three Iraq War films-two on the homefront ("The Messenger", "Brothers") and one based in country ("The Hurt Locker"). This blog entry focuses on "Brothers".
"Brothers" is a movie full of half measures. It confronts situations then backs off. Toby MacGuire is a good soldier and a loyal son to Sam Shepherd, Jake Gyllenhaal is the black sheep brother, just out of jail. Natalee Portman is MacGuire's wife (the character is underwritten to the point of blandness). The film is really divided into two stories, one belonging to Gyllenhaal and Portman, the other to Toby MacGuire upon his return from the war. The divided plot doesn't give an audience time to really get under any characters skin and the resulting big resolution doesn't seem earned. You're left wondering which character you should have been rooting for all along. MacGuire is fine in a role that requires him to go from mild-mannered to bonkers. It's an awful lot of histrionics, maybe too much. Gylenhaal steals the film with an uneasy understatement. It's the best work I've seen from him but it's really not his movie. In this genre "Coming Home" is still the gold standard. Of the three major Iraq war films from this year, "The Hurt Locker" has the most impact, followed in close order by "The Messenger". "Brothers" pulls up the rear but is certainly worth the watch. All in all, it's a banner year for the War film.