So the crew out at Lions Gate sent me a copy of Brothers to see, and it may be one of the strongest dramas I’ve ever seen.  In fact, it’s entirely too strong.

As it turns out, Brothers is a remake of sorts, based on a Danish film.  Here, Captain Sam Cahill, a devoted family man who’s equally devoted to his work, goes to war in Afghanistan.  Meanwhile, his brother, an ex-con recently released following a stint for armed robbery, visits his sister in law while his brother is away, keeping her company and helping her through the rough times.   When Sam’s family gets word that he died, his family is left brokenhearted and at their lowest.  But Sam’s brother–Tommy–steps in to help, even going so far as to renovate the family’s kitchen, earning him even the respect of his hard-bitten Vietnam vet father.  But when Sam isn’t as dead as previously thought, he returns to what he believes is disaster–his loving wife, now in love with his brother.

The problem with Brothers is that it’s taking itself entirely too seriously.  And believe me, I understand that this is a Major Dramatic Role for all involved.  Even poor old Ethan Suplee, who prior to this could pretty much call his big achievement “Randy on My Name Is Earl”, who’s pretty much here for comic relief, is actually being called on FOR DRAMA.  That’s like bringing a Nerf bat to a knife fight.

And the drama continues, frantically, throughout the whole thing.  It’s a PAINFULLY high level of drama.  It hurts.  In all honesty, it hurts.  Watching it is a slow, draining, excruciating experience that is about as painful to watch as it might well have been to live through.  Okay, maybe not, but damn, this thing hurts.

I understand that it’s necessary, because that’s just the nature of the movie, but they didn’t have to go as far as they did with it.  There’s a difference between drama and SUPER ULTRA PATHOS DRAMA, and Brothers illustrates that difference perfectly.  I don’t care how many Golden Globes it won–it still hurt to watch.

And unless you’re in a mood to suffer right along side it, heed the warning of the Screenhead Ten Scale, which gives this painful lump of superdrama a three out of ten for being entirely too painful.