• Awards
  • 4 wins & 16 nominations
• Private Joe Willis
• (as Patrick Flueger)
• Director
• Writers
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

Did you know

• TriviaJake Gyllenhaal learned of the death of his close friend Heath Ledger while he was in the middle of shooting a scene for this film. Gyllenhaal immediately walked off set, and returned to finish the scene two days later. He then took a longer bereavement leave before he was ready to continue with the rest of his scenes.
• GoofsThe movie gives the location of the Marine Base as “Fort Mahlus”. Only the US Army begins their bases with “Fort” (i.e. Fort Benning, Fort Bragg, etc). The US Marines begin their bases with “Camp” (i.e. Camp Pendleton, Camp Lejeune, etc).
• Quotes Sam Cahill: You know what I did to fucking get back to you? Grace Cahill: No. Sam Cahill: YOU FUCKING BITCH! YOU KNOW HOW HE FUCKING SUFFERED? HE FUCKING SUFFERED BECAUSE OF YOU! AND WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY FUCKING HOUSE AND MY FUCKING KIDS, GRACE? YOU ARE FUCKING MY BROTHER! Grace Cahill: Sam, you know I didn’t. Sam Cahill: YOU ARE FUCKING MY BROTHER IN MY FUCKING HOUSE!
• SoundtracksRocky Mountain ManWritten by David ManzanaresPerformed by David JamesPublished and Recorded by David Manzanares (BMI)

A United States Marine returns home from Afghanistan with PTSD and thinks his Brother is sleeping with his wife and moving in on his family. Then the crap starts to hit the fan.

Brothersis a 2009 American psychological thriller war film directed by Jim Sheridan and written by David Benioff. A remake of the 2004 Danish film, it follows Captain Sam Cahill (portrayed by Tobey Maguire), a presumed-dead prisoner of the War in Afghanistan who deals with extreme PTSD while reintegrating into society following his release from captivity. The film also stars Jake Gyllenhaal as Cahill’s brother and Natalie Portman as his wife. Both films take inspiration from Homer’s epic poem theOdyssey.

• While on tour in Afghanistan, Sam’s helicopter is shot down and he is presumed dead. Back home, it is his screw-up brother who looks after the family. Sam does return, but with a lot of excess baggage.
• Before leaving on his second tour in Afghanistan, Marine Captain Sam Cahill, a leader, an athlete, a good husband and father, welcomes his screw-up brother Tommy home from prison. He’d robbed a bank. In country, Sam’s helicopter is shot down and all are presumed dead. Back home, while Sam wastes away as a prisoner in a remote encampment, Tommy tries to take care of the widow and her two children. While imprisoned, Sam experiences horrors unbearable, so when he’s rescued and returns home, he’s silent, detached, without affect, and he’s convinced his wife and brother have slept together. Demons of war possess him; what will silence them?—<jhailey@hotmail.com>
• U.S. Marine Captain Sam Cahill is well respected, not only by his colleagues but also by his family, especially his ex-Marine father, Hank Cahill. Although he is also loved by his family – his high school sweetheart wife Grace, and their two young daughters, Isabelle and Maggie – they, Isabelle in particular, do not like his frequent absences. Coinciding with the imminent and only latest of his deployments to Afghanistan is the release from prison of his brother, Tommy Cahill. Grace does not much like Tommy, and Hank feels Tommy has not earned his respect, which does not change by Tommy’s actions post-prison. Shortly into this tour of duty, the Cahills learn that Sam has been killed in action. Largely because of Grace’s grief, Tommy finally comes to the realization that he needs to become a responsible adult, filling the role vacated by Sam in more ways than one. In their mutual grief, Tommy and Grace fall into each others arms – which does not go any farther than a single kiss – and the girls see in their Uncle Tommy the father that they don’t have in Sam, namely one who is constantly present in their lives. This new life changes when they all learn that Sam was not killed, but was taken captive in Afghanistan and now rescued. Sam’s return leads to a difficult transition for all concerned, not only because of Grace and the family having settled into a life without him and with Tommy, but also because of the trauma experienced by Sam in Afghanistan in relation to how he sees Grace and Tommy together.—Huggo
• Sam Cahill (Tobey Maguire) and Tommy Cahill (Jake Gyllenhaal) are brothers. A Marine captain about to embark on his fourth tour of duty, Sam is a steadfast family man married to his high school sweetheart, Grace (Natalie Portman), with whom he has two young daughters, Isabelle and Maggie (Bailee Madison, Taylor Grace Geare). The film opens with Tommy being released from jail for armed robbery, not long before Sam departs for Afghanistan in October, 2007. Soon news comes that Sam’s helicopter has crashed over the water, killing all of the Marines aboard. In reality, he and a hometown friend, Private Joe Willis (Patrick Flueger), have been taken prisoner in a mountain village. With Sam “gone”, Tommy attempts to redeem himself in the eyes of his family by wrangling old friends to help with kitchen repairs for Grace and the kids. Grace slowly sheds her previous resentment towards her brother-in-law. As months pass, Grace and Tommy bond over their mutual mourning, culminating in a passionate fireside kiss. They regret it afterward, and do not take this attraction any further, though Tommy continues to win the favor of his nieces. Meanwhile, Sam and Joe are abused and tortured by terrorists, forced to make videotaped dismissals of the military and their mission, though only Joe cracks. The captors eventually deem him useless and force Sam, at gunpoint, to beat Joe to death with a lead pipe. He does so and reacts angrily. Sometime later, Sam is rescued. Sam returns home, clearly traumatized by his experience. He drifts through encounters in a cold, paranoid daze, refuses to explain to his family what happened while he was in Afghanistan, and lies to Joe’s widow that he does not know how Joe died. He also believes Tommy and Grace had a sexual relationship in his absence. During Maggie’s birthday party, a resentful and jealous Isabelle claims that Sam’s paranoid assumptions are true: that Tommy and Grace slept together. Sam becomes enraged, destroying the newly remodeled kitchen with a crow bar and pulling a pistol on Tommy who arrives and tries to calm his brother’s violent tantrum. The police arrive, and after a frantic confrontation in which Sam holds the gun up against his head and nearly commits suicide, Sam surrenders. Sam is admitted to a mental hospital. Grace visits him and tells him that if he does not tell her what is tormenting him, he will lose her forever. Faced with this decision, Sam finally opens up about the source of his pain, confiding in her that he killed Joe and they embrace. A letter between husband and wife is read in voice over, with Sam wondering if he will be able to continue living a normal life.

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