When Love Comes Between Family

Tonight's marathon is all about brothers and sisters sharing the same affections towards the exact same person that they end up falling for. It's a unique love triangle that packs a powerful punch to it and shows the conflict that arises when not just any ordinary person is after the person you're in love with, but a member of your own blood being the other person. This marathon is about love, family, loyalty, deception, having to choose between two people that love another equally, and how a family can change after such a predicament. This marathon dares to ask the question of what you would do if that was you and your brother/sister sharing the same feelings towards someone. Would you let the other have the person in question or would you put your relationship over family? For tonight's charming, touching, and dramatic marathon, we have on the following menu:

Legends Of The Fall 1994, While You Were Sleeping 1995, Sabrina 1995, Brothers 2009, and TheOther Boleyn Girl 2008

  This feels like the perfect lineup of movies for this theme. These films have appealing casts who sell the concept of each film beautifully, while making you question what exactly would you do in the scenario presented. These movies are charming, epic, historical, dramatic, often funny at times, and carry a good moral lesson about the dangers of two people of the same blood being in love with one person. Nearly all of these films have achieved critical acclaim upon their respective releases with some becoming cult classics like Legends Of The Fall, While You Were Sleeping, and Sabrina. There's a saying that if several movies utilize the same storyline then it's up to each filmmakers distinct style of presenting the same story that makes them different yet good.

      We begin our marathon with the first film of the night titled Legends Of The Fall starring Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, and Julie Ormond directed by Edward Zwick. Nominated for three academy awards and winner of Best Cinematography, the film centered around three brothers and their father who live in the wilderness and endure going into the first World War and seeing their lives changed by nature, history, and an unexpected love triangle between two brothers and a girl. The two brothers in question are played by Brad Pitt and Aidan Quinn with the beautiful young girl played by Julie Ormond who also plays the female love interest in First Knight and Sabrina. Legends Of The Fall is a beautiful story about three brothers who endure the trials and tribulations of life together and whose bonds are ultimately tested by their feelings for a girl. One of Edward Zwick's earliest films prior to his slam dunk run of movies such as Great Expectations, The Siege, The Last Samurai, Blood Diamond, and Defiance, Legends Of The Fall is a film that has a powerful story behind it about the love between three brothers while carrying some of the finest cinematography of any film made in the 1990's. Edward Zwick's trademarks in his films are generally considered the music and the cinematography in his films. He also generally tends to get the best work out of his actors such as Tom Cruise in Last Samurai or Leonardo Dicaprio and Djimon Hounsou in Blood Diamond.

      The second movie of the marathon is the Sandra Bullock romantic comedy titled While You Were Sleeping. The story centers around a romantic female, whose a ticket collector at the train station. She ends up saving the life of an unconscious man and while doing so, pretends to be his fiancé after he wakes from a coma but ends up falling for his brother played by Bill Pullman. Charming and being credited as part of the contributing factor to the rise in Sandra Bullock's early career, While You Were Sleeping shows her as being a comedic talent as well as a captivating movie star while surrounding her with a fairy tale story that shows off her admirable traits.as well as a charming performance that gives the formula a good name. The concept is handled with skill and presents the story as being often likeable and touching.

      The third movie of the marathon is the 1995 critically acclaimed romantic comedy and remake titled Sabrina starring Harrison Ford, Gregory Kinnear, and Julie Ormond from Legends Of The Fall. The Cinderella inspired tale centers around the transformation of a not so pretty girl into a remarkably beautiful woman who harbors feelings for one of two brothers. The first is a carefree playboy while the other is a workaholic who keeps his carefree brother in check but also finds himself drawn towards Sabrina while trying to draw him away from her due to a business deal. Based on the original 1954 classic starring Humprey Bogart and Audrey Hepburn, the remake directed by Academy Award Winner Sidney Pollack maintains the spirit and charm of the original classic while upgrading it for a new generation. Strong performances and slick direction drive this one to become one of the above average remakes in recent memory.

      The fourth movie of the marathon is the 2009 critically acclaimed remake of the 2004 classic of the same plot titled Brothers starring Natalie Portman, Tobey Maguire, and Jake Gynnehaal. The story centers around two brothers falling for the same girl with one going off to war and the other comforting his brothers wife and children while the opposite goes off to war in Afghanistan. Based on the critically acclaimed 2004 movie titled Brodre starring Susanne Bier, the 2009 remake plays off more like a melodrama but makes for a realistic and engaging story given the climate at the time regarding war. It takes the siblings falling for the same person concept into a far more serious tone than the last three films prior. It is also the film that shows beyond a reasonable doubt that Tobey Maguire can act and gets way too much crap for playing Spiderman.

      The fifth movie of the marathon is The Other Boleyn Girl starring Natalie Portman, Scarlett Johansson, and Eric Bana. The story while playing more like a soap opera compared to the rest of the films centers around two sisters who are both competing for the love of King Henry Vlll. Of all the movies in the marathon that center around two brothers falling for the same girl, this time it's two sisters falling for the same guy with Natalie Portman once again making an appearance from the previous film in the lineup Brothers. This one plays off more like a historical drama compared to the other films in the lineup and has grand art and set decoration and costume design that blends in perfectly with the time period of the story. The ending of this film feels like the perfect finish to this marathon given the buildup of all the films before it, showing the ambitions of two sisters to pursue the king as being ultimately a deadly and dangerous game.



      So what are these movies all trying to say when you put them together as a whole? The message behind all of these films is that two brother or sisters that are in love with the same person should never let love come in the way of family. Sometimes the two should think about who would be the better choice for that person and let the other person have him or her not just because of love but because they would want the best for their other sibling. A movie like Legends Of The Fall teaches that family will always stick together and be there for each other regardless of the situation, and family loyalty is the most important thing in life. While You Were Sleeping says that two brothers who feel for the same girl should let the one with stronger feelings have her, even though pretending to be someone's fiancé while they're in a coma is not right. Sabrina says that you should never judge someone based off their appearance prior to experiencing a transformation and true love does not require a person having to change their appearance for someone. You should also never lead someone on after they fall for you or give them false hope. The better man should always get the girl in the end. Brothers says that just because one brother goes off to war and the other steps in to take care of their family does not mean that they cheated or backstabbed their own blood. The Other Boelyn Girl says that unchecked ambition can lead to intractable consequences such as the end of the movie.



Our characters for this evening: