Nathalie Portman is weakest link in "Brothers"

I know it practically requires an act of Congress to green light a movie in Hollywood. Having stars attached is must. But you would think that Jake Gyllenhaal and Toby McGuire would have been enough star power to approve the upcoming Brothers by Jim Sheridan. The Cain-and-Abel tale of one man (McGuire) who goes off to war where he is critically wounded, and his slacker brother (Gyllenhaal) who pinch-hits as the responsible uncle to the grieving wife and children. A love triangle ensues when the warrior awakes from a coma and returns home. Nathalie Portman, far from the Empire, portrays the long-suffering wife; therein lies the problem. Portman is woefully miscast. If the studio can't cut a good trailer, you know the film is an enema. There are many other scrappy, lesser known actresses who could have done something with this working-class role, (eg: Lauren Ambrose, Allison Pill; contrast with Samantha Morton in The Messenger ). Hollywood's obsession with the same twelve skinny women is ridiculous. Sheridan should take a note from TV dramas: casting matters.