Sheridan has another winner in Brothers
DIRECTOR Jim Sheridan hits all the right notes with Brothers, a magnificent film told in two parts.
Preparing for his tour of duty in Afghanistan, Captain Sam Cahill (Tobey Maguire) is facing an extended period away from wife Grace (Natalie Portman) and his two young daughters.
Needing Sam’s attention at the last minute is little brother Tommy (Jake Gyllenhaal), freshly released from jail, without a plan for his life. When Sam leaves, Tommy tentatively steps in to take care of the family, facing the wrath of his judgmental father (Sam Shepard) and the warmth of Grace’s appreciation.
When Sam is presumed dead after a helicopter attack, Grace is devastated, but encouraged to live again through Tommy’s support. Sam, now under terrorist control, is forced to endure torture and perform unspeakable acts of cruelty to survive, with family back home his only comfort.
NOT sure if A Prophet is booked in locally, but if so, don’t miss out. It could turn up at the 12-screen Omniplex.
Condemned to six years in prison, Malik El Djebena, of North African origin, cannot read nor write. Arriving at the jail entirely alone, he appears younger and more fragile than the other convicts. He is 19 years old. Cornered by the leader of the Corsican gang who rules the prison, he is given a number of “missions” to carry out, toughening him up and gaining the gang leader’s confidence in the process. But Malik is brave and a fast learner, daring to secretly develop his own plans…Unknown cast, but boy, they deliver in large doses.
ON a lighter note, even if it pulls at the heart strings, is The Boys Are Back.
It follows Joe, (Clive Wilson), a wise-cracking British sports journalist, living family life in regional South Australia.
In the wake of his wife’s tragic death, he finds himself in a sudden state of single parenthood with six-year-old Artie. With turbulent emotions swirling, and Joe’s elder teenage son coming to stay, he’s faced with raising two boys in a household devoid of feminine influence and an unabashed lack of rules. United by unspoken love and in search of a road forward, the three multi-generational boys – father and sons alike – must each find their own way to grow up.
