The Brothers Bloom

The Brothers Bloom is about two orphaned brothers, Stephen and Bloom, who jump from foster home to foster home all the while coming up with elaborate schemes and cons. Stephen is the older of the two. He creates, or "writes", the con much like you would write a play, filling it with scenes of symbolism and using fancy themes and such. For him the cons are a work of art. Bloom, the younger brother, is more of the character actor, playing his role to perfection and always following Stephen's lead.

When we join the two brothers, Bloom (Adrien Brody) is fed up with the con life. He is tired of playing parts and is wanting to experience something real. Stephen (Mark Ruffalo) tries to convince Bloom that there is no such thing as an "unwritten life" and the art if the con is what they are living for. Bloom decides he wants out for good and leaves for Montenegro. Stephen finds him and convinces Bloom to do one more con with him. Together with their silent partner Bang Bang (Rinko Kyuchi) they endeavor to con a lonely reclusive heiress, Penelope (Rachel Wiesz), who spends her days acting very eccentric. She has hid from the world for so long that she has no clue how to interact with it. Bloom shares this bond with her as he has never truly interacted in the world around him either. Bloom complicates everything by falling in love with Penelope. And everyone knows you should never fall in love with the mark.

Rian Johnson is the director of The Brothers Bloom. His debut feature, Brick, is one of my favorite films ever. This movie is a dire contrast to Brick. I was reminded of The Royal Tenenbaums, as the movie has the same feel and tone of Wes Anderson's film. In fact, it's not far-fetched to think of the brothers as close relatives to the Tenenbaums. I was surprised to find this style of film from the director.

The ending is very entertaining. I just do not think the journey in getting there is worth it. Like any con film there are twists and turns, and instead of feeling like it flowed naturally, I felt poked and prodded as if I was being told to "go here" and "go there".

The cast is excellent, especially Ruffalo, and the film has it's moments. But I was looking for something a little more substantial from Johnson. Skip this one and rent Brick instead.

Grade: C+