I won’t know until December, of course, but I get the impression that Jim Sheridan’s upcoming film Brothers is much better than its trailer. Take a look…
The Movie: Brothers (opening December 4)
The Buzz: Natalie Portman, Jake Gyllenhaal, and an emaciated Tobey Maguire join forces for a blend of suspense, politics, sex, and drama. The writer-director is Jim Sheridan (My Left Foot, In America), which means this is the kind of prestige picture that I live for.
The Trailer:
The Review: So here’s the thing: The movie’s poster, pictured above, tells us a lot. Natalie Portman loves Skinny Tobey, but she’s also drawn to his brother, Jake Sexyhaal. The dual attraction is fracturing her, and it’s making the bros stern and pinchy-faced.
The trailer adds a boilerplate song by The Fray and some blunt assurances that the film will transform from a “life-affirming weeper” into a “scary thriller,” but really, it just repeats what the poster tells us.
Normally, I can accept a preview that competently lays out the plot, tosses in a power ballad, and heads for the exit. But that workmanlike blandness does a disservice to an artist like Sheridan, whose films always have a carefully nuanced tone and visual language. If I didn’t know Brothers was the work of an excellent filmmaker, this preview would convince me it’s a generic movie-of-the-week that’s only escaping a Saturday night screening on CBS because it features three big stars.
By contrast, look at the preview for Sheridan’s In America. Rather than plodding through a linear account of the film’s story, it creates an overall sense of the film, suggesting that rich and eccentric emotion will have nearly-magical consequences. It may not be your bag, but at least it’s got personality.
The Rating: Two Sandwiches, Which Tobey Maguire Clearly Didn’t Eat
6 responses so far ↓
1 Shannon // Jul 14, 2009 at 2:13 am
You may be interested in seeing the movie it was based on, also called “Brothers” but in Danish, so…”Brødre”. From the trailer, it appears that they’ve lifted the plot wholesale. I liked it though.
2 Dustin L // Jul 14, 2009 at 11:17 am
I agree that the trailer is awful. I hate trailers that have a sudden dramatic turn. If you want to reveal the twist (which I’m sure you do since you want to show off skinny Tobey), let us know early on. Using the trailer to trick the audience into expecting one kind of movie and then thwarting them a minute in is only going to alienate potential viewers.
On the other hand, I’m glad somebody has made a movie that capitalizes on what we’ve all known since the ’90′s- that Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal look a lot alike, in a kind of creepy way. I’m holding out hope that the real twist is late in the film when the third brother- Wes Bentley- shows up and reveals that Natalie slept with him too.
3 Deanna // Jul 14, 2009 at 12:41 pm
This is perfect casting since I’ve never been able to figure out which one is Tobey Maguire and which one is Jake Gyllenhaal. In my mind they’re the same person.
4 ferretrick // Jul 14, 2009 at 1:13 pm
I don’t find Tobey Maguire attractive at all. Jake Gyllenhaal is on both Boyfriend and my list of people that its ok to cheat with, should the opportunity present itself. I’ve never noticed a resemblance before, and now it is creeping me out.
5 Laura Mc. // Jul 14, 2009 at 5:06 pm
That looks great. It’s so delicious when a plot is familiar and fresh at the same time.
Speaking of delicious. Jake: call me.
6 Pristine // Jul 16, 2009 at 7:17 am
This reminds me of Lee Pace’s ill-fated movie Possession, whose release keeps getting pushed back. I hope it’s as good as the trailer shows.
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