Jake Gyllenhaal, effortlessly believable in "Brothers"

"Sheridan's "Brothers" is an altogether more calculated object, with its meticulous setups, meaningful pauses and young, attractive Hollywood cast.

Still, that cast largely impresses. Portman has rarely been more movingly subdued as a wife and mother who refuses to let grief overpower her sense of responsibility, while Gyllenhaal is effortlessly believable as a drifter who finds, to his delight and ours, that fatherhood suits him well. Sheridan's empathetic touch with tyke actresses, so evident in 2003's "In America," pays off beautifully in his work with young Madison, who's heartbreaking as the older and wiser of the two Cahill girls.
With his crew cut and stiff posture (in contrast to Gyllenhaal's looser stance), Maguire is downright scary as a guy who seems to be headed the way of Pvt. Pyle in "Full Metal Jacket". But he still looks a tad boyish for the part (Ulrich Thomsen was in his 40s when he played the role for Bier), and his decision to go explosively over-the-top at moments only exposes Sam as a psychological construct -- more walking antiwar statement than full-blooded human being". Source: www.variety.com