One of the most intriguing films of 2005 is shaping up to be one of the most promising remakes of 2008. Yes, even better than All of Me. Susanne Bier’s Brothers (fancy Dutch title: Brødre) was a punishing tale of a family torn apart by the return of a husband/father/soldier assumed dead after being captured by the Taliban in Afghanistan. When the tortured ex-POW realizes his wife has fallen for his black sheep brother, violence erupts, and suddenly this once upright man seems capable of the worst kind of brutality. That’s an insufficient thumbnail sketch of the plot; Brothers is about so much more than that, and I really can’t recommend it enough. But I will caution you that it is strong, emotionally devastating stuff.
The Danish language film co-starred Connie Nielsen, so I didn’t quite understand the need to brush it aside and get on with a remake. But when I heard that David Benioff would be tackling the adaptation, I immediately got interested. As of today, I’m officially excited. Jim Sheridan, last seen struggling to find 50 Cent’s pulse in Get Rich or Die Tryin’, has been tapped to direct the remake by Relativity Media’s Ryan Kavanaugh, Michael De Luca and Joni Sighvatsson. This is encouraging because a) Sheridan’s a master at handling incendiary material like this, and b) actors kinda like working with him (they figure anyone who made three films with Daniel Day-Lewis must be doing something right). I especially like the idea of Sheridan working with Benioff; they’re both guys’ guys. I think they’ll get on famously.
Sony will be distributing Brothers in the U.S. With Sheridan attached, expect this project to be commencing principal photography before the end of the summer.