A good movie

Since I have a weak spot for Jim Sheridan's work and all the actors involved, I was really eager to check this flick. However, I was wondering if it was really a good idea to make an American version of the terrific Danish original version. I mean, if you are not going to improve the whole thing, or add anything really interesting to it, what's the point of remaking it? Eventually, I thought this version was pretty good, even though the Danish movie still remains better. I mean, with Sheridan's version, some things did work, some others didn't. For example, the directing was pretty solid, it remained a really strong drama and it was still a very compelling story. Furthermore, the casting of the two brothers was just brilliant. Not only Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal really looked like brothers but they both delivered some very solid performances (I don't know why some people criticized Tobey Maguirre for being too soft to portray a marine. I thought he was quite brilliant). On the other hand, I wasn't really convinced by Natalie Portman. I mean, don't get me wrong, she is a terrific actress but I don't think she was the right choice for the part. I mean, when I look at her, I seriously can't believe that she is a mother of 2 children and I think it would have worked better with an older actress, at least 7 or 8 years older than her. Furthermore, the original story was based on two streams : Sam's war experience and trauma and the new relationship between Tommy and Grace. Well, this second part was pure and simply completely removed and I think that's a shame because it made the whole thing much more complex and compelling to watch. To conclude, I still think it is a pretty good drama and it is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the genre, but I can't shake the idea that is a useless remake.


7/10