Captain Sam Cahill (Maguire) is leaving for another tour to Afghanistan, leaving behind his wife and high school sweetheart, Grace (Natalie Portman) and their two young daughters. His brother, Tommy (Gyllenhaal), is a perennial bad seed whose past indiscretions include robbing a bank at gunpoint. Grace makes no secret of her dislike of her husband’s rogue sibling, and Tommy certainly doesn’t help his case by spending most of his nights in a drunken stupor.
Shortly into his tour, Sam’s helicopter crashes in the hills of Taliban country, and he is presumed dead. His family is devastated by the news — Grace can barely get out of bed every morning and her father-in-law, Hank (Sam Shepard), turns to booze to numb his pain. Portman’s portrayal of Grace is heartbreaking and full of raw emotion, while Shepard turns in a subtle yet effective performance as an ex-Marine whose preference for his “good” son, Sam, is apparent in every utterance he directs towards his less motivated son, Tommy.
After the death of his brother, Tommy takes it upon himself to assume some of his brother’s responsibilities, performing such tasks as remodeling the family’s kitchen and becoming a surrogate father to his nieces, Isabelle and Maggie (Bailee Madison and Taylor Geare). Both Madison and Geare are impressive in their roles, despite their young ages; however, Madison gives a particularly touching performance, effortlessly holding her own among the film’s more seasoned actors.
The ease with which Tommy integrates himself into the lives of Grace and her children surprises everyone, including Tommy. In his new role as man of the house, it is only natural that a bond develops between Tommy and Grace, which draws them both out of the darkness of grief. Grace discovers that Tommy isn’t the terrible person she believed him to be, while Tommy learns that Grace is more than just the ex-cheerleader who married his all-American brother.
While Grace and Tommy grow closer, the audience learns that Sam is alive and being held captive by enemy forces, along with fellow survivor, Private Joe Willis (Patrick Flueger). The two soldiers are forced to endure indescribable torture for weeks on end; the psychological and physical pain become too much to bear, causing Sam to commit an unimaginably terrible act. The scenes of Sam’s imprisonment provide the film with its most disturbing moments that are as powerfully effective as they are difficult to sit through.
When Sam is eventually found by U.S. troops and returned home, he is a gaunt shadow of his former self, unable to relate to his family and burdened with the guilt of his past actions. Sam’s post-traumatic stress disorder turns him into a ticking time bomb, ready to explode at the slightest cause. Maguire’s portrayal of the distressed Marine is chillingly accurate — after his transformation, it is hard to believe he was once the loving husband and father at the film’s start.
Upon Sam’s return home, the Cahill family is once again thrown into upheaval as their happiness at his return changes to concern over his unrecognizable and menacing behavior. Keeping his secret bottled up inside places Sam on a path of gradual breakdown that can only end in disaster. Maguire’s most demanding scenes occur when his character attempts to reinstate himself into his home life, only to find that, in his absence, his brother has filled his place.
What is refreshing about “Brothers” is that it doesn’t attempt to make judgments on the War in Afghanistan but rather delves into the effects of war on the soldiers who have come back home from battle and the families to which they have returned. The film ends on a somewhat ambiguous note, leaving it to the audience to decide whether the future of the Cahill family is hopeful or bleak.