Director Rian Johnson pulls a near-perfect con with “The Brothers Bloom”
As character after character in “The Brothers Bloom” explains, the perfect con ends with everybody getting everything they want.
Writer-director Rian Johnson played a confidence scam of sorts in his brilliant debut film “Brick” — setting a dark film noir amidst the halls of a California high school. But it’s nothing compared to the hat trick he pulls off in “The Brothers Bloom.”
Johnson introduces moviegoers to four broadly painted characters — the eccentric heiress, the mute explosives expert, two scam artist siblings — and cons us into falling in love with them.
He gives us a fierce, funny parable about brotherly love, romance and adventure. He makes us laugh. Best of all, he keeps moviegoers’ attention with sharp dialogue and unexpected thrills.
A sleek, stylish caper that fits comfortably with the likes of “Charade” and “Paper Moon,“ “The Brothers Bloom” follows a pair of siblings that have been swindling unsuspecting marks since childhood.
Stephen (Mark Ruffalo) runs the cons, crafting complicated stories of mystery, lust and intrigue guaranteed to hook unwary millionaires. His brother, Bloom (Adrien Brody), stars in each story as the vulnerable, likable anti-hero.
And their silent, sexy sidekick Bang Bang (Rinko Kikuchi of “Babel”)? She provides the firepower.
It’s a formula that’s worked well for years. But Bloom is growing tired of this surreal existence. He longs for something more, an “unwritten life” free of lies and subterfuge.
Stephen agrees to give him an out … after, of course, that proverbial “one last job.”
The brothers’ final mark is Penelope Stamp (Rachel Weisz), a quirky beauty who’s spent most of her life hermetically sealed in a New Jersey mansion. She skateboards. She breakdances. She takes weird pictures with a pinhole camera carved out of a watermelon.
In short, she’s ripe for a little excitement.
Acting on Stephen’s instructions, Bloom quickly insinuates himself into Penelope’s life and coaxes her into accompanying the brothers — now masquerading as reformed antiquities smugglers — on a globetrotting adventure that leads from the Mediterranean to Mexico to St. Petersburg, Russia.
As the scam unfolds, however, Bloom finds himself falling for Penelope.
Has he finally found love and happiness apart from Stephen’s constant scheming? Or is this tender romance — and Bloom’s emancipation — all part of the plan?
“The Brothers Bloom” keeps audiences guessing up until the last clever twist.
Along with its oddball characters and exotic locales, Ricky Jay’s opening narration lends “The Brothers Bloom” an air of fairytale whimsy — recalling Wes Anderson’s “The Royal Tenenbaums.” (It’s worth noting that Brody, the wounded romantic here, plays a more misanthropic version of the same character in Anderson’s “The Darjeeling Limited.”)
The glib mood does occasionally dip into darker territory– usually in connection to the brothers’ Russian mentor Diamond Dog (Maximilian Schell). One senses that there’s a less happy past hidden beneath the surface, veiled from our eyes by the brothers’ careful network of lies.
Unfortunately, we only get glimpses of depth in “The Brothers Bloom.”
Most of the movie remains floating blissfully on the surface, as deeply entrenched in fantasy and self-deception as one of Stephen’s stories.
That said, “The Brothers Bloom” is a finely crafted fairytale.
The cast, ranging from charismatic charlatan Mark Ruffalo to brooding Adrien Brody, is simply irresistible.
Rachel Weisz shares her talent for klutzy comic relief with silent straight woman Rinko Kikuchi and British comedian Robbie Coltrane, who makes an appearance as a Belgian smuggler known as the Curator. Meanwhile, Schell, an Austrian actor who won an Oscar for 1961’s “Judgment at Nuremberg,” lends an appropriate air of menace.
“Brick” alumni Nora Zehetner and Noah Segan show up in brief but memorable cameos.
Also returning from “Brick” are cinematographer Steve Yedlin and composer Nathan Johnson, who give “The Brothers Bloom” a truly vintage feel. So do the fabulous costumes designed by Beatrix Aruna Pasztor (“Vanity Fair,” “Alfie,” “Basic Instinct 2”).
It’s all window-dressing for a slick flick that encompasses all the glitz, glamour and glibness of a ’60s thriller.
“The Brothers Bloom” may not be the perfect con. But it’s close.
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