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BROTHERSMovie Reviews
Drama about a love triangle involving two brothers, a Marine who goes off to fight in Afghanistan and is presumed to have disappeared there and his ne'er-do-well sibling who steps into the breach. Cast:Tobey Maguire, Jake Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman, Sam Shepard, Clifton Collins, Jr.Director:Jim SheridanRelease Date:December 4, 2009DVD Release:March 23, 2010From:LionsgateRating:RLength:1 hr 45 min
Brothers played to good reviews that at the same time were mixed. • Michael Phillips wrote in the Chicago Tribune, "...gripping -- an honorable and beautifully acted addition to the tradition of homefront war stories." • And Michael O'Sullivan wrote in the Washington Post, "...it does take half the movie before the story really kicks in. When it does, it'll knock the air out of you." More Reviews Below...
Ramin Setoodeh, Newsweek: VERY GOOD "Natalie Portman has some of the most difficult scenes, and this is her most accomplished work since 'Closer.' But 'Brothers' is Tobey Maguire's movie."(See all of Ramin Setoodeh's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 362 words, 11/23/09
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...isn't badly acted, but as directed by the increasingly impersonal Jim Sheridan ('In America'), it's lumbering and heavy-handed..."(See all of Owen Gleiberman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 232 words, 12/04/09
Jake Coyle, Associated Press: MODERATE(cg) "...has aspirations for 'Deer Hunter' territory... 'Brothers' can't preserve the intimacy of the original film, and the loosened characters slide into cliche despite noble intentions."(See all of Jake Coyle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 134 words, 12/03/09
Thelma Adams, Us Weekly: WEAK(cg) "Natalie Portman is miscast as a suburban mom... Maguire works too hard unloading his scarred, crazy exterior -- and Gyllenhaal is tragically underutilized."(See all of Thelma Adams's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 102 words, 12/03/09
Claudia Puig, USA Today: VERY GOOD(cg) "...exploring the complicated nature of family bonds, it's thought-provoking. The wounds inflicted by the cruelty of a troubled parent can prove as painful as battle scars."(See all of Claudia Puig's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 475 words, 12/04/09
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NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES/CHICAGO/TORONTO (13 Reviews)
A.O. Scott, New York Times: MODERATE "...the film lurches between moments of fine, subtle realism and more frequent instances of blunt, blocky overstatement.... It has a vague, half-finished feeling..."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 866 words, 12/04/09
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Jim Sheridan and his screenplay sources make 'Brothers' much more than a drama about war and marriage. It is about what we can forgive ourselves for..."(See all of Roger Ebert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 796 words, 12/03/09
Rafer Guzman, New York Newsday: VERY GOOD(cg) "...narrowly escapes becoming a high-class soap opera thanks to David Benioff's well-polished script and a fine cast - Jake Gyllenhaal in particular."(See all of Rafer Guzman's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 333 words, 12/04/09
Liam Lacey, Toronto Globe & Mail: MODERATE(cg) "...weakened by its desire to have a major impact... melodramatic material is heated to boiling over.... The effect is to put us on our guard against manipulation..."(See all of Liam Lacey's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 765 words, 12/04/09
Melissa Anderson, Village Voice/LA Weekly: POOR "Sheridan ends up with a PTSD melodrama, with Tobey Maguire able to produce slobber almost as effortlessly as Natalie Portman can summon up tears..."(See all of Melissa Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 190 words, 12/02/09
Susan G. Cole, Toronto Now: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...the film's emotional power can't be denied. But it comes to an abrupt end at what should be the beginning of the last act."(See all of Susan G. Cole's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 143 words, 12/03/09
Mick LaSalle, Houston Chronicle/San Francisco Chronicle: VERY GOOD(cg) "The power of war to transform people, the subject of Jim Sheridan's 'Brothers,' is brought home in the performance of Tobey Maguire..."(See all of Mick LaSalle's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 414 words, 12/04/09
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: OUTSTANDING(cg) "Taking the good-son, bad-son story in a different direction (one that runs through Afghanistan), 'Brothers' is a powerful statement on loyalty, love and the cost of war."(See all of Bill Goodykoontz's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 616 words, 12/04/09
Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: OUTSTANDING(cg) "...a heartbreaking film that speaks to the lifelong aftershocks of war, and to the powerful bonds of family and of love."(See all of Steven Rea's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 742 words, 12/04/09
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: MODERATE(cg) "...another movie about a fractured soldier and posttraumatic stress... Yet there's something distasteful in the way Sheridan relishes turning that trauma into a potboiler."(See all of Wesley Morris's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 836 words, 12/04/09
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star-Tribune: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...moving, but with missteps. Family becomes the battleground when a soldier and an ex-con clash in 'Brothers.' "(See all of Colin Covert's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 513 words, 12/04/09
Moira Macdonald, Seattle Times: VERY GOOD(cg) "...well worth seeing for Maguire's bone-chilling performance as a man literally returned from the dead... it's made with care, and it works very well."(See all of Moira Macdonald's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 465 words, 12/04/09
Clint O'Connor, Cleveland Plain-Dealer: GOOD(cg) "...never really goes anywhere. It ends up being the often-told, rather standard-issue tale of guy goes off to war, guy does horrible stuff, guy comes back all broken inside."(See all of Clint O'Connor's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 472 words, 12/04/09
Shawn Levy, Portland Oregonian: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "The film's sincerity doesn't feel trustworthy; too many little details and bits of craft are just wrong. And by the time it ramps up to its climaxes, its hysteria alienates..."(See all of Shawn Levy's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 195 words, 12/04/09
Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: MODERATE(cg) "As a melodrama, 'Brothers' is passable entertainment. But the film squanders the opportunity to meaningfully portray the impact of war on American lives."(See all of Calvin Wilson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 324 words, 12/04/09
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel: VERY GOOD(cg) "...as predicable and cloying as 'Brothers' sometimes is, the cast is fascinating, young actors now possessing the dramatic heft to pull something like this off..."(See all of Roger Moore's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 481 words, 12/04/09
Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: MODERATE(cg) "...director Jim Sheridan ('In America,' 'The Boxer') and screenwriter David Benioff ('The 25th Hour') pay careful attention to the tiniest details, but they miss the larger picture..."(See all of Rene Rodriguez's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 446 words, 12/04/09
Melissa Anderson, Village Voice/LA Weekly: POOR "Sheridan ends up with a PTSD melodrama, with Tobey Maguire able to produce slobber almost as effortlessly as Natalie Portman can summon up tears..."(See all of Melissa Anderson's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 190 words, 12/02/09
Susan G. Cole, Toronto Now: GOOD (NOT GREAT)(cg) "...the film's emotional power can't be denied. But it comes to an abrupt end at what should be the beginning of the last act."(See all of Susan G. Cole's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 143 words, 12/03/09
HIGHBROW PRESS (5 Reviews)
Bob Mondello, NPR All Things Considered: VERY GOOD "Sheridan takes his time establishing characters, works nuances rather than plot twists, and avoids histrionics... when the emotional fireworks come, they're explosive."(See all of Bob Mondello's reviews...)(Listen to the full review...) 222 seconds, 12/04/09
A.O. Scott, New York Times: MODERATE "...the film lurches between moments of fine, subtle realism and more frequent instances of blunt, blocky overstatement.... It has a vague, half-finished feeling..."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 866 words, 12/04/09
David Denby, New Yorker: MODERATE "...has been made with obvious devotion and sincerity, and I wish I could take it seriously.... it feels like a 1948 Arthur Miller play, without Miller's toughness."(See all of David Denby's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 323 words, 12/07/09
David Edelstein, NPR Fresh Air: VERY GOOD "Actors in Sheridan's movies are fully engaged, thinking hard in character, and you feel as if you're inside their heads.... empathy seems to come as naturally as breathing."(See all of David Edelstein's reviews...)(Listen to the full review...) 317 seconds, 12/04/09
Justin Chang, Daily Variety: GOOD (NOT GREAT) "...a convincing portrait of fractured family life and boasts its share of powerfully acted moments... a more polished but less effective twin to the 2005 Danish original."(See all of Justin Chang's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 1,007 words, 11/23/09
Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter: GOOD "...hues closely to the original but loses some of its true grit.... you wonder how things would have played had Jim Sheridan and David Benioff ventured into new territory."(See all of Kirk Honeycutt's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 847 words, 11/23/09
A.O. Scott, New York Times: MODERATE "...the film lurches between moments of fine, subtle realism and more frequent instances of blunt, blocky overstatement.... It has a vague, half-finished feeling..."(See all of A.O. Scott's reviews...)(Read the full review...) 866 words, 12/04/09
20.9 Percentage Points Average Difference Between Reviews (Norm is 18.4pp; <18.4pp = More Consistent; >18.4pp = More Mixed)
Brothers's reviews are separated by an average 20.9 percentage points. The norm for this measure is 18.4 percentage points. Less than 18.4 indicates more consistent reviews; greater than 18.4 indicates more mixed reviews. In the chart below, each dot represents a review, with the dots at the top more positive than the dots at the bottom. From left to right, the dots represent reviews in big, bigger and biggest publications. Roll over each dot for more detail.
Brothers (41 reviews) Roll over dots for each review
Coverage:Brothers's reviews cover 86.0% of potential readers (average is 67.9%). Volume:The film's reviews total 19,499 words involume (average is 20,194 words). Length:The film's reviews average 476 words in length (the norm is 517 words).
Reviews Broke 9.8 Hours Before Release (Norm is 1.2 Release)
Brothers's reviews on average broke 9.8 hours before opening. Norm for this measure is 1.2 hours before. The chart below shows reviews on opening day and the days before and after opening; the left side is earlier and the right side is later. The red bars extending above the horizontal mid-line represent more positive reviews, and the red bars extending below represent more negative reviews. The white space/red bar in the middle is Brothers's opening day. Click on any bar for a list of the reviews for that day.
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