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BROTHERS

"Love and War"

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What You Need To Know:

BROTHERS stars Tobey Maguire as Captain Sam Cahill, a soldier who becomes a prisoner of war in Afghanistan. Sam leaves behind his wife Grace (played by Natalie Portman), brother Tommy (played by Jake Gyllenhaal [“Jill-in-hall”]), and two daughters. When Sam disappears, Grace and Tommy struggle with their grief. They look to each other for support. In a moment of drunken passion, they share a single kiss. Not long after, Sam is rescued from a terrorist group and sent home. His family is overjoyed to have him home, but his experience with the terrorists has scarred him, and Grace begins to question his sanity. Meanwhile, Sam suspects his wife’s infidelity and sets out to uncover the truth.

Despite its mature themes, BROTHERS places a heavy emphasis on unconditional, family love. Also, redemption is a huge theme, though not necessarily from God. The Cahills are a traditional Christian family, and Sam’s sacrifice is honored at church, through hymns and prayer. War is depicted as both honorable and horrific. Sam and his father are proud to serve their country, but the movie’s depiction of violence, foul language, and substance abuse requires extreme caution.

Content:

(BB, PP, C, LLL, VV, S, N, AA, DD, M) Strong moral, patriotic worldview with light Christian elements, including references to God and a man’s military service is honored at a church with hymns and prayer, but the characters often fall short; 27 obscenities and profanities; several strong war scenes with graphic content, including man forced to beat another man with a pole, and man angrily trashes a kitchen; woman is wrongly accused of adultery and woman kisses her brother-in-law after her husband has disappeared on the battlefield but immediately regrets it; upper male nudity; alcohol use, drunkenness, and alcohol consumption is used as a way to cope with depression; recreational marijuana use with children asleep in the other room; and, man contemplates revenge against his brother.

More Detail:

In BROTHERS, Captain Sam Cahill (Tobey Maguire) is a military officer who becomes a prisoner of war in Afghanistan. Following in his father’s military footsteps, Sam leaves behind his wife Grace (Natalie Portman), brother Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal), and two daughters. Sam and Grace had been a happily married couple with everything going for them. When Sam disappears, however, Grace and Tommy struggle with their mutual grief and eventually look to each other for support. In a moment of drunken passion, they share a single kiss. They immediately regret their betrayal to Sam’s memory and vow never to speak of it again.

Not long after, Sam is rescued from a terrorist group and sent home to his wife and kids. His family is overjoyed to have him home, but his experience as a prisoner of the terrorists has forever scarred him, and Grace begins to question his sanity. Meanwhile, Sam suspects his wife’s infidelity and sets out to uncover the truth. How can he possibly hold on if his one source of stability, his loving wife, cannot be trusted?

Maguire delivers a truly unnerving performance in BROTHERS. This is a significant departure from his Peter Parker/Spider-Man role. He does a great job as a conflicted man who loves his family but must cope with a darker side of the world that he believes no one else can understand.

Despite its decidedly mature elements, BROTHERS places a heavy emphasis on unconditional, family love. Also, redemption is a huge theme, though not necessarily from God. The Cahills are a traditional Christian family, and Sam’s sacrifice is honored at church, through hymns and prayer. War is depicted as both honorable and horrific. The Cahills are proud to serve their country, but the horrors of war are vividly portrayed, especially from terrorist groups. BROTHERS also contains a significant amount of foul language and a scene of marijuana use. Furthermore, characters use alcohol to cope with their depression and grief. Thus, extreme caution is advised for this R-rated movie.

Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.


Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.