Hosive

winter means more independent than blockbuster fare though i’ve been spending most of my time catching up on indie releases from late 2009 than from early 2010. i watched brothers based on jim sheridan directing, reportedly great acting turned in by the cast and for a chance to hear the new u2 song rolling through the credits. too bad, this was not a great sheridan outing and the theatre accidentally turned off the sound after the last scene. luckily, the performances did create engagement…but not throughout.

the trailer does a good job not giving away everything though the basic plot structure can be gleaned from it.  two brothers, one respected and one black sheep are the focus of the film. the beloved brother is sent on another tour of duty while the tolerated brother continues to waste his life away.

during a flight mission, the soldier brother is captured but is thought to be dead.  the rest of the film chronicles the transformation of both siblings resulting from this including their eventual reunion and  relationship there after.

while many will complain that the movie was plenty long, ironically i think it isn’t long enough. the passage of time is essential to transformational epics and there weren’t enough connective tissue moments to show the nuances and development.  for example, the time from mourning to life returning to normal via almost slapstick comedic episodes transitioned too quickly. and too suddenly after that, the family was brought together again. more scenes would have allowed us to linger in each emotion.

natalie portman is miscast. she is too attractive and thus distracting. in fact the movie makes constant reference to her radiance as if everybody knew it too.

i don’t think i would watch this again. except maybe to hear the u2 song. but i probably will just find the song on itunes. theresa would have been bored.