Stars Tobey Maguire, sufferer of post-traumatic stress disorder after an ordeal in an Afghan prison camp; Natalie Portman, his adorable wife; Jake Gyllenhaal, his ex-con brother; and Sam Shepard, his father, who prefers the soldier to the retired armed robber. With all that star power it would seem unnecessary to lean on the young daughters of the troubled couple to tug at our heart strings.
According to Roger Ebert, the film "avoids temptations toward melodrama," which makes it sound as though it isn't even in melodrama's zip code. But I remember a scene in which the damaged soldier tosses some dishes around the kitchen before holding a gun to his own head in the presence of his brother, wife, and the police. Special effects slow down time, and it appears he may very well shoot himself, but then, through the oozy sounds and stretchy photography, he hears his brother's calls, and the vertiginous effects subside as he puts down his gun. In a phrase favored by the demurrers of my household:
I'm just sayin'.
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