Ending All Wrong

“Hotshots” looks at a movie!

Brothers - Movie PosterBROTHERS is a remake of a 2004 Danish film, and you just might want to rent that earlier film than see this muddled mess.

Sure, this one stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Natalie Portman, Tobey Maguire, Sam Shepard, and Mare Winningham, but there are holes in the story, unresolved issues, and problems that continue up until the very ending.

Now, these problems might be the result of the version released in theaters, perhaps because of studio pressure, and a preferred “director’s cut” is waiting in the can for its DVD release and that bane of all writers: the “alternate ending.”

Until then, we are stuck with this one.

The time is 2007, and Gyllenhaal and Maguire play brothers Tommy and Sam Cahill, who are polar opposites. Tommy was always the family screwup, whereas Sam was a star football player in high school, married his high-school sweetheart, and followed in their father’s footsteps to become a captain in the U.S. Marines.

In fact, as the movie opens, Sam is getting ready to be deployed to Afghanistan for his fourth tour of duty, and Tommy has just been released from prison.

Sam tells Tommy, “Stay out of trouble.” And Tommy replies, “All right. You be safe over there, all right?”

Before he leaves, Sam writes a letter to his wife, Grace, that he hopes won’t have to be delivered. But shortly after his arrival in Afghanistan, Sam’s helicopter is shot down by Taliban rebels, and Sam is presumed dead.

Back home, Grace takes the news of Sam’s death hard, and Tommy steps into the surprising role of comforting her and her two young daughters.

However, in spite of what the publicity would have you believe, it isn’t what you think.

Meanwhile, Sam wasn’t killed, but was captured by the Taliban and held prisoner, during which time he does something horrible.

So, when Sam is rescued and comes home, he is carrying a terrible guilt, and his arrival disrupts the new, surprising arrangement at home.

Now, if you do see this theatrical release of the film, ask yourself these questions: Does Grace read the entire contents of Sam’s letter for the audience?

Are we told everything that happened between Tommy and Grace? And does Sam reveal the whole story of his imprisonment?

BROTHERS doesn’t answer these questions, and the ending is all wrong.

I’m Dan Culberson and this is “Hotshots.”