The Thousands

“Sounds Biblical,” was my initial summary of this domestic melodrama. Kinda – its characters are more like figures in a parable than individual human beings. But Jim Sheridan’s powerful, intimate remake of the 2004 Danish original offers little salvation. Bleak, uncertain, Brothers is a fable that’s lost its moral.

The ‘good’ brother, gentle Captain Sam Cahill (a still-boyish Tobey Maguire), is captured in combat by Afghan mujahideen. A horrifying atrocity transforms him into a gaunt, paranoid, eye-boggling, scenery-chewing stranger to his wife Grace (Natalie Portman) and daughters Isabelle (a heartbreaking performance from Bailee Madison) and Elsie (Mare Winningham). Meanwhile, a subtler – or just more subtly acted – transformation comes over surly ex-con Tommy Cahill (Jake Gyllenhaal), whose alcoholic ‘Nam-vet dad (Sam Shepard) never fails to remind him that he’s the ‘bad’ brother. Only upon Sam’s presumed death does Tommy dare to realise he can be a decent family man.

While Maguire provides some haunting moments, Gyllenhaal provides the film’s emotional centre, skilfully sketching Tommy’s awkward, conflicted attraction to Grace. Portman does little but look pretty. Ultimately, Brothers fails to explain why Sam and Tommy are each other’s salvation – cries of “He’s my brother!” just don’t cut it.