immolate_the_silence | brothers grimm (2005) meta + picspam - trope bingo fill: hurt/comfort (Reply)

Collection: Trope Bingo (Round 14)
Prompt: Hurt/Comfort
Specifics: Meta + Picspam [12 images]
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Title: Such Brotherly Love: Hurt/Comfort in The Brothers Grimm
Notes: This film is one of my favorites and the ultimate hurt/comfort film for me. I'm a sucker for brother relationships and I love how Will and Jake's grows throughout the course of the film. Will goes through the greatest character development as he shifts from anger, fear, ridicule and abuse to acceptance, guilt, understanding and love. Ultimately, I chose this film for this prompt because I feel like the hurt/comfort scenes are the epitome of the brothers' tragic and complex relationship, highlight its transformation as the film progresses and also symbolize the inner heart of the film.

So here's a little background with SPOILERS.

Will, the elder brother who's practical and doesn't live with his head in the clouds, thank you very much, is annoyed by and secretly terrified of the fantastical world of folklore and fairy tales that his brother obsessively dwells in and insists is real. He continuously berates his brother for their tragic past, indirectly caused by Jake, and forces his brother into a lifestyle of trickery and thievery, conning those who believe in superstitions (this is set in French-occupied Germany in the 19^th century). Upon being forced into a magical, though no less horrifying case that's very much based in reality, Will has to finally believe in his brother's world and ultimately, believe in Jake himself.

At the end of the film, as emphasized by the director in the film's commentary, one brother has to sacrifice themselves for the greater good. For me, there's no more perfect sacrifice than Will's and here's why.

Will is the character with the most growth potential throughout the film, reasons provided above, and the end would not be the least bit satisfying if the characters didn't see their flaws and vow to change them. Will has come to a point where he realizes he's in the wrong: there is a world of magic and Jake is not just his foolish, dreamer of a brother; furthermore, Jake is the only one who can potentially stop the evil Mirror Queen and save the day. Will doesn't succumb to hopelessness or a fear that he can never undo his wrongs, instead, he believes in his brother and trusts him to finish the story.

Now this is where events really reach their climax.

Will has sacrificed himself through Jake's accidentally plunging an enchanted knife into his chest, ouch, and now it's Jake's turn to take the opportunity his brother gave him and believe in himself. Jake has lived his entire life believing in, or rather, wanting to believe in the worlds and tales he's written down or created in his beloved book, but now that it's finally happened, now that the fates of the villagers' children and his brother's very life hang in the balance, he succumbs to grief and guilt and overwhelming despair.

Jake pretty much has a breakdown over his brother's prone body, all the while the Mirror Queen taunting him, and in this moment we come to understand how much Will loves his brother and how much Jake loves his brother and how they are the Brothers Grimm, meant to be together, two halves of the same whole, the practical man balancing out the dreamer and vice versa. Jake has only ever needed Will's belief in him and Will has only ever needed to forgive and understand.

So, without further ado, here are some lovely hurt/comfort images.

Set 1: Angelika comforts Will over his admission of fear when faced with his brother's world and a feeling of weakness and inferiority when comparing himself to Jake. God, I LOVE the complexity of the brothers' relationship and how Angelika even understands it.

Angelika: You're just scared.

Will: Just scared? I'm terrified. You should be too. Don't you understand? The idea of going back in there [the enchanted forest] ... nothing makes sense there. It's like being inside Jake's head. God, I hate him, I... He makes me... he drives me mad.

Angelika: He makes you feel weak, doesn't he?

Will: Yeah. He always has done. The thing is, I can't...

Angelika: Protect him.

[Will glances up at her, appalled. Their gazes meet, locked in this undeniable moment of connection.]

Set 2: Plunging the enchanted knife into his brother's chest, Jake proceeds to try to comfort him, wallows in denial and, upon realizing he can't save Will and doesn't know how to give this story a happy ending, begins to have a nervous breakdown.

Mirror Queen: Such brotherly love. Such sacrifice.

Jake: Will. Will. Don't look her in the eyes. Don't look her in the eyes.

Mirror Queen: He's dying, Jacob.

Jake: Leave him alone!

Mirror Queen: Because of you. Can you save him? Do you have your magic beans? Because, I do.

[Jake, succumbing to temptation and peeking at the enchanted mirror, sees his brother restored to health and sealing his fate with the Mirror Queen.]

Set 3: Jake, reunited with his brother after the collapse of the Mirror Queen's tower, is beautifully grief-stricken and teary-eyed here, utterly wracked by grief, guilt and hopelessness. Jake's belief that he has failed Will is palpable and powerful and heart-wrenching.