THE AISLE SEAT - "THE BROTHERS MCMULLEN"

by Mike McGranaghan

The Brothers McMullen is a movie packed full of ideas. It is about love, brotherhood, marriage, Catholicism, adultery, and forgiveness. The film was made by first-time writer/director Edward Burns, and it reflects the issues that are on his mind. What is striking about The Brothers McMullen is not its minuscule budget or the variety of its themes; what grabs you is how truthful and identifiable the story is. In his tale of three Irish Catholic brothers trying to reconcile their romantic/sexual desires with their religious beliefs, Burns shows a knack for achieving depth of character that is rare in movies today.

The story begins in a cemetery. Barry McMullen (played by Edward Burns) is standing at the grave of his recently-deceased father. His mother announces that she is leaving for Ireland to be with the man she has always loved (the full explanation of this scenario comes later in the film). Before she goes, she gives Barry a piece of advice: "Don't make the same mistake I did." What she means, we come to find out, is never forget to follow your heart.

The movie then jumps ahead five years. We come to know the brothers more fully now. Barry is the ultimate cynic, believing that there is no such thing as love. The oldest brother, Jack (Jack Mulcahy) is married to a terrific woman named Molly (Connie Britton) but is having an affair with the devious Ann. The youngest brother, Patrick (Mike McGlone) is the most ardently Catholic of the group. He, however, feels tremendous guilt: he's having pre-marital sex with his girlfriend, who is not Catholic.

In their own skewed ways, each brother believes he is following his heart. Jack feels guilty for cheating on Molly, yet clearly feels lustful toward Ann. Patrick decides that he is trapped in his relationship and decides to pursue Leslie, a neighbor girl he liked in high school. Barry romances a young woman named Audry (Maxine Bahns) and, although he's falling in love with her, he refuses to commit. All three men essentially act selfishly in the name of avoiding their mother's mistake.

One of the ongoing ideas in The Brothers McMullen (and it's a provocative one) is that it's hard to be Catholic and have a normal sex life. No matter what the men do, they are violating some aspect of their faith. This is most evident in the character of Patrick, who won't move in with his girlfriend because it is a sin to live together out of wedlock. He will, on the other hand, have sex with her. Patrick walks around in a daze, constantly announcing that he's going to hell. For him, there is no way to follow his natural desires without compromising his religion. Such a theme - in many movies - would be handled with smug disdain. But Burns isn't that simplistic. He respects Catholicism while still showing how the desire to follow God's rules clashes with the natural sex drives everyone has. This is probably the best, most insightful movie ever made about Catholic guilt.

This is also a movie about brotherhood, and I really liked the relationship between the brothers. Although they rag on one another incessantly, they also support one another in times of need. The actors all do terrific jobs making the brothers' dilemmas real. The actresses in the movie are also outstanding. On the whole, the women here are more mature and together than the men. They seem to have a self-assuredness that eludes their male counterparts. One of the film's best scenes is near the end, when Molly confronts Jack about his affair. Although bitterly angry, she keeps herself together, knowing that one of them has to have strength in the relationship.

The Brothers McMullen is a lot more insightful than most romantic comedies. It recognizes that what people think they want and what they really need can be two totally different things. When Barry launches into a hilariously foul analogy comparing men to bananas (women, he says, want to peel back all the layers of skin and cut the banana to pieces), you know it's all a defense to deny that he's falling madly in love with Audry. For him, it's easier to hide behind a veneer of non-chalance than it is to acknowledge vulnerability. The McMullen boys are vulnerable, though, and their struggles to figure things out make for one enormously entertaining movie.

( out of four)