The Brothers Bloom (2009)

3.5

THRILLER/COMEDY/DRAMA
U.S. Release Date: 05/15/09
Running Length: 113 Minutes
MPAA Classification: PG-13 (Occasional Profanity, Mild Violence, Brief Rear Female Nudity)
Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 2:35:1
Cast: Adrien Brody, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel Weisz, Rinko Kikuchi, Robbie Coltrane
Director: Rian Johnson
Screenplay: Rian Johnson
Cinematography: Steve Yedlin
Music: Nathan Johnson
U.S. Distributor: Summit Entertainment
Review by: Carter Moulton

The Brothers Bloom is a film that demands your attention, laughs while you guess its direction, outsmarts you, and then challenges you for a second round. It’s a perplexing story, one that evaded my grasp several times, all the while snickering at my efforts. The film is a con about a con, and while certain conclusions can be made, the pretentious will surely be swindled. Rian Johnson 1, Audiences Everywhere 0.

The film opens up with a narrated segment telling of Stephen (Mark Ruffalo) and Bloom (Adrien Brody), two brothers who start their habitual conning at an early age. Stephen is the mastermind, usually preparing multiple-step processes for Bloom to carry out. The introduction ends, and we fast-forward twenty-five years. They’re still at it, but Bloom is getting ready to call it quits—he’s tired of being a puppet in Stephen’s con-stories. After much debating, Bloom decides to do “one final con” with his brother.

The target? Penelope Stamp (the wonderful Rachel Weisz). Penelope lives all alone in her mansion, collecting hobbies as an occupation—everything from juggling to piano playing to break dancing to Lamborghini driving. She’s an eccentric character, and Weisz gives her plenty of childish energy to compliment her childish wardrobe.

The con is a complex one, and revealing any details would stain the fictional-fibers. I will say that there are instances when Bloom isn’t sure if his brother is double-crossing him, and we, like Bloom, watch the line between reality and fiction disappear—usually to the point where we see only a small piece of the big picture. Outsmarting us without directly insulting us is challenging, but through zany characters, an energetic pace, and vibrant images, director Rian Johnson pulls it off.

Photo © Summit Entertainment

This is Johnson’s second feature—his first being the critically acclaimed Brick in 2005. Here, Johnson is buoyant and whimsical—think Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge!, Australia) and Wes Anderson in a blender, but with more visual intensity. In fact, many are claiming this to be a rip-off of Wes Anderson (The Royal Tenenbaums, The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou), Paul Thomas Anderson (Magnolia) and Shane Black (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) among others, but The Brothers Bloom has just as much atmosphere and identity, if not more, than most of the films it’s supposedly “ripping off.” The direction and cinematography work seamlessly with Johnson’s screenplay, and combined with Nathan Johnson’s compositions, which feature the light plucking of harps and the quaint picking of nylon-string guitars, it’s obvious that The Brothers Bloom wants to tell a modern-day fairytale, not a nail-biting thriller.

Johnson shows this in one particular scene where a character named “The Curator” (played by Robbie Coltrane) approaches Penelope on the deck of a ship. We see the lights dim and become a burning red. Out of the shadows comes The Curator, an eerie tread in his step and a murky grin on his face. It’s a complete change of tone, a shift so dramatic that any spots of realism in one’s mind ought to be washed away in a bath of fresh fantasy—this didn’t happen for some, such as The Los Angeles Times and The Hollywood Reporter, who cite the film for having “miscast actors” and a lack of “flesh-and-blood.” Let’s face it, the film exposes our movie-going desires—to draw simple conclusions and piece everything together—in a nudge-nudge-wink-wink sort of way, never trying too hard; it seems some elitists just don’t have a sense of humor.

Ruffalo and Brody are two of my favorites and are magnificent as always, and Coltrane, who plays Hagrid in the “Harry Potter” series, is spooky-comical as The Curator. The three leads, Ruffalo, Brody, and Weisz, form a tight-knit team—watching them work together is worth the price of a ticket alone. Add Johnson’s direction and an engaging screenplay, and The Brothers Bloom blooms into something special.

Like I said, chances are, you won’t understand everything about The Brothers Bloom after one viewing, and that’s okay. When the wheels feel like they’re falling off, they do, and they’re replaced with something new and exciting. I wanted to take lap two immediately after the credits rolled, not only because I wanted to finish the puzzle, but because Johnson’s world is bursting with color, humor, and imagination.