Actors Outshine Melodrama in 'Brothers'

The three actors who star in director Jim Sheridan's Brothers -- Tobey Maguire, Natalie Portman and Jake Gyllenhaal -- give performances worthy of a much better film.

Portman is rather believable as the former cheerleader turned bereaved soldier's wife. And Gyllenhaal sort of one-ups the performance he gave way-back-when in Donnie Darko -- you know, the troubled, bad-boy younger brother.

Maguire does the most work here. His performance is a major departure from everything else he's done thus far (his Golden Globe nod is quite deserved). He's physically transformed, and, emotionally, he's battered, brittle, so on edge.

The raw material of the film could have been spun into something hearty and fulfilling. The last movie I saw that dealt with PTSD, In the Valley of Elah with Charlize Theron, was excellent: superior acting and a screenplay that kept you interested.

What we get in Brothers, however, is melodrama that drips heavy like syrup. If you've seen the trailer for this movie, there will be no twists beyond some zingers delivered by the youngest actors on the screen. The story unfolds predictably, and Maguire's breakdown seems rather sudden. As does the ending.