Brothers

Screenwriter David Benioff didn't have to do much to relocate Susanne Bier's 2004 film, Brødre, from Denmark to America. The story remains the same: Captain Sam Cahill (Tobey Maguire) loves his family, but he's equally devoted to his career. Just when his ne'er-do-well brother, Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal), exits prison after doing time for robbery, the Marines deploy Sam to Afghanistan. Tommy starts checking in on his wary sister-in-law, Grace (Natalie Portman), but then Sam's helicopter crashes in the mountains and the military informs Grace that he has died. In fact, the Taliban has taken Sam hostage and torture him to elicit information. Back in New Mexico, Grace and Tommy—believing Sam is dead—grow closer, stopping just short of an affair (in Bier's version, they take the plunge), and even Tommy's disapproving Vietnam vet father, Hank (Sam Shepard), sees his son in a new light after Tommy renovates Grace's kitchen. But when Sam's company rescues him, he returns home a broken man, convinced that his wife has fallen in love with his brother, and even his daughters are afraid of him. Director Jim Sheridan's well-meaning remake gets off to a solid start, but loses steam before the end as the telling of the tale becomes too overstated to effectively convey the full heartbreak of the situation. Optional. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include audio commentary by director Jim Sheridan, a “Film and Family” featurette on Sheridan (16 min.), a “Remade in the USA: How Brødre Became Brothers” featurette (13 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a decent extras package for an uneven remake.] (K. Fennessy)