Review: Brothers (15)***

In Jim Sheridan's English language remake of Susanne Bier's celebrated Danish drama Brodre, love is war as two siblings – polar opposites – are divided by their deep bond to the same woman.

Like the original film, Brothers is distinguished by emotionally raw performances and an escalating tension as the characters' underlying rage and guilt gradually bubble to the surface.

Tobey Maguire is a revelation as a soldier haunted by his experiences at the hands of the enemy, whose deep psychological wounds threaten to tear his family apart.

Jake Gyllenhaal plies roguish charm as the black sheep of the family and Natalie Portman is in sparkling form as a doting mother.

Tommy Cahill (Gyllenhaal) is released from prison, having served his time for armed robbery.

He begins to rebuild his life by re-establishing links with his parents Hank (Sam Shepard) and Elsie (Mare Winningham), who have always shown preference to his golden boy brother, Sam (Maguire).

However, Tommy gets to prove his worth when Sam is shot down in Afghanistan.

With his sibling presumed dead, Tommy lends his support to Sam's beautiful wife, Grace (Portman), and her two daughters, Isabelle (Bailee Madison) and Maggie (Taylor Geare).

Over time, Tommy and Grace grow close but their mutual attraction, which spills over into a single kiss, is quickly extinguished when Sam is found alive.

Denials of an affair fall on deaf ears and it is only a matter of time before Sam declares war in this accomplished distillation of Bier's superior 2004 film.

Performances are exemplary across the board, including a terrific supporting turn from youngster Madison as the daughter who resents her father's return. Maguire and Portman don't convince as childhood sweethearts, but her on-screen chemistry with Gyllenhaal simmers nicely.

Like the war in Afghanistan, there is no swift or neat resolution.