BROTHERS (PG): Drama/90 minutes

FOLLOWING recent reports that Tobey Maguire will no longer don his red-and-blue tight suit for the fourth Spider-Man flick, we should take this opportunity to get used to his non-superhero guise.

In Brothers, he plays an American soldier, Captain Sam Cahill, whose heroic persona is in stark contrast to the "black sheep" image of his fresh-out-of- prison younger brother, Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal).

Following news that Sam has perished in Afghanistan, his widow, Grace (Natalie Portman), tries to move on with life - with a little help from Tommy, who renovates her kitchen and bonds easily with her two daughters, Isabelle (Bailee Madison) and Maggie (Taylor Geare).

But just as Tommy and Grace begin to show signs of feelings for each other, news arrives that Sam has been found alive.

I've long admired Dublinborn film-maker Jim Sheridan's ability to flesh out gritty Irish tales like My Left Foot and In The Name Of The Father.

But something isn't quite right in this American story adapted from Susanne Bier's 2004 Danish film.

Maguire comes across as more of a wide-eyed foot soldier than a former football jock who now has to straddle between family life and his affiliation to his "other family" that he takes command of in the war zone.

In the same vein, it's hard to see Portman as a burdened mother of two, while Gyllenhaal is so adorable that you'd think of him more as a mischievous student suspended from school, rather than a former convict who had served time for armed robbery.

Sure, the three look fantastic on the black-and-white movie poster, but it's a pity that they don't disappear into their roles so that we can forget about the actors behind the characters.

One wonders if the story would have benefited from different dynamics with an alternative cast.

Many films tend to drag on when they could have been more concise.

In this case, Brothers races towards the finishing line without dwelling sufficiently on key moments to explore issues, emotions or, perhaps - in the case of the father, a retired Marine played by Sam Shepard - underlying family secrets.

A scene that stands out for its expertly built-up tension is the dinner-table tirade between Sam and Isabelle, involving a horribly squeaky balloon that the girl is handling.

I wish there were more scenes like that. And kudos to the very talented Madison (previously seen in Bridge To Terabithia), who is certainly a young actress to keep an eye on.

There is an explosive scene where Sam goes berserk, overwhelmed by his post-traumatic stress disorder and an obsessive suspicion that Grace is having an affair with Tommy.

Maguire handles the intense emotions well, and it looks like he's finally warming up.

But it's a pity that, all too soon, we hear U2's theme song wafting through the cinema as the credits start to roll.

myp@sph.com.sg

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