A week after the dodgy bootleg version that premiered on Entertainment Tonight hit the Web, Apple has the intense trailer for Jim Sheridan's "Brothers" (Lionsgate; 12/04) in crisp HD, along with the film's poster. The spare, thematically relevant construction appropriately renders the stripped down, shoulders-up presence of the film's central marriage (on-screen husband and wife Natalie Portman and Tobey Maguire, looking gaunt and nearly unrecognizable) as the focal point, with the likeness of a contemplative, mournful Jake Gyllenhaal lingering in the extramarital periphery with a threat of impending disquiet.
Based on Susanne Bier's superb 2004 original (the Danish drama received a limited stateside run the following summer), "Brothers" centers on Grace, the young wife (played by Portman, whose capably adult mannerisms in the trailer suggest a broader range than we've seen before, standing in for Connie Nielsen in Bier's original) of Marine captian Sam Cahill, a devoted family man whose simple life with Grace and their two children provides every satisfaction. During Sam's extended tours of duty overseas, Grace and their two young kids go about their daily lives in a patient routine awaiting Sam's safe return. When Grace receives word that Sam has been killed in the line of duty, her life collapses.
In the wake of their devastating loss, Grace finds comfort from Sam's reckless brother Tommy (Gyllenhaal), a constant source of disappointment and conflict for Sam and a near stranger to Grace and, especially, the children. Having been governed by the lingering impulses of youth well into adulthood, Tommy's attitude is jolted into perspective with the realization of Sam's permanent absence and the newly invested relationships he builds with Sam's wife and children upon making the decision to remain with Sam's family indefinitely until the grief subsides.
Assuming the roles of defacto husband and father figure left by the debilitating loss of Sam, Tommy and Grace belie their better judgment as their relationship becomes romantic, then sexual, forged on the mutual loss they experienced together. Normalcy sets in, with Tommy having effectively replaced Sam in the lives and emotions of Grace and her children. Then comes the real shocker: Somebody made a mistake; Sam is alive, awake from his coma, and returning home to the wife and children who have already mourned his death, to find the brother he'd written off as a failure in his bed.
Originally (if tentatively) slated for an obligatory year-end release in 2008, Sheridan wisely opted to take his time in post-production rather than enduring the inevitable self-sabotage of an eleventh-hour blitz to land a final cut in theaters by New Year's Even and ultimately qualify for Oscar contention. While the trailer for "Brothers" is propelled along the same path of narrative conflict that made Bier's original so compelling, and we can infer that Sheridan's update sticks to the proven formula, the forward momentum of emotional intensity is largely illicited by standard manipulation techniques of modern film advertising. The entire second half plays out against the musical stylings of Top 40 faves The Fray, made famous, tellingly, by providing "Grey's Anatomy" with its unofficial theme song. It's an effective tactic, admittedly; and it's highly unlikely that such brazen commercial pandering will be a factor beyond Lionsgate's promotional push, a hefty challenge for no greater reason than the fundamental presence on camera of a war in the Middle East.
Opening on December 4 in limited release (if the studio knows what's best for commercial and awards season prospects, alike) before rolling out nationwide over the next couple of months, "Brothers" boasts the considerable cinematic pedigree of Sheridan's past directing accomplishments "In the Name of the Father," "My Left Foot" and "In America," with a script adapted by David Benioff ("The Kite Runner," "25th Hour") and a supporting cast that includes Mare Winningham, Sam Shepard and the odds-on Best Actress nominee Carey Mulligan, who has the much-lauded lead "An Education" (Sony Classics; 10/13) in the can as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment