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The Brothers Bloom review
:. Director: Rian Johnson
:. Starring: Adrien Brody, Mark Ruffalo
:. Running Time: 1:49
:. Year: 2008
:. Country: USA
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Switcheroo con capers and one-last-heist-then-I'm-out films don't usually register on my radar but Brothers Bloom looked so quirky and fresh that I took a chance. The first half of the film was immensely enjoyable; the second half held so many explosions that my interest quickly petered out.
Stephen (Mark Ruffalo) and Bloom (Adrien) Brody are supposed to be the world's greatest conmen. While that may be a bit farfetched, they are high energy and make for a charismatic duo; they might just be the con men you'd most want to hang out with. Why? They steal fine art, they ride steamships to Europe and languish in Montenegro when down on their luck. Their sidekick savant is a silent, sexy, stylish Japanese femme fatale named Bang Bang (Rink Kikuchi) who also happens to be hilarious. Stephen is the ringleader while Bloom is the forlorn romantic type who always follows but always wants out so that he can get the girl; the early years of the scheming Bloom Brothers bouncing from foster home to foster home are both droll and slightly melancholic.
When they meet wealthy, lonely heiress Penelope (Racehl Weisz) it becomes obvious who will fall in love and who is counting the money. While watching the three of them together as their madcap adventure ensues across exotic locations is enjoyable (Weisz shines in this role as someone bamboozled who quickly decides to bamboozle herself) here is where we start to tread very familiar territory; from plotting to steal a rare book, to a swindle within a swindle within a swindle, to faking deaths and actually dying.
A film that starts off light on its feet, whimsical and free and full of fresh dialogue degenerates into car explosions and evil Russians. Tant pis… so much more could have focused on the complicated relationships between misfits who find each other in the world.
Anji Milanovic
 Movie Reviews: 1998 - 2011
Movie Reviews: 2012 - present
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