Movie Review: The Brothers Bloom (2009)

It's a tale of two halves and perhaps I was the one that was conned

I am one of the select few that saw Rian Johnson's 2006 debut feature Brick and didn't fall head over heels for it, but this isn't to say I hated it. Johnson certainly showed a talent for writing and his dialogue in Brick is to be praised. Fortunately a lot of that talent carries over into The Brothers Bloom, a film I like much more than Brick, but that adoration does come with reservations.

The true greatness in Brothers Bloom lies in the characters Johnson creates and their relationships with one another. Despite cheeky dialogue and quirky moments for comedic effect, there is a reality to this film. Even if it isn't necessarily the reality you and I live in, it is a reality you believe in nonetheless, which is extremely important in filmmaking and proves if Johnson continues to tap into this ability his films will always be worthwhile ventures.

The Brothers Bloom on a pair of brothers (duh), obviously both carrying the last name Bloom, but one goes by Stephen (Mark Ruffalo) and the other sticks with Bloom (Adrien Brody). The Bloom brothers are world-traveling con men with Stephen being the tactical brains of the outfit and Bloom being the pawn he moves around as the two cheat unwitting participants out of their valuables.

The story hinges on the notion that Bloom wants out. He has a habit of falling in love with the mark, a stumbling block in any con game as the mark has to always be left behind, which has left Bloom lonely and wanting. Stephen, on the other hand, is perfectly happy cheating people out of their money as he has the love of his brother at his side and that's all he really needs. Well, that and the mostly mute pyrotechnic sidekick Bang Bang played to absolute perfection by Rinko Kikuchi — she's a doll in this one you are sure to love.

Knowing Bloom's predicament Stephen comes up with one final scheme, a mark that happens to be the beautiful, yet eccentric, heiress Penelope Stamp played by Rachel Weisz. The goal is to relieve her of some of her money in an art scam, most of which hinges on Stephen's order to Bloom, "Don't fall in love."

As I said, the film relies on the characters and relationships that make up this goofy little plot and almost every step of the way it succeeds. Brody and Ruffalo are perfectly cast as the grifting brothers and Kikuchi serves as a lot of the film's comic relief and yet manages to become the "voice" of reason, despite the fact she is silent for the majority of the film. Weisz, though, is the film's glue that keeps it together. She is the final piece to the puzzle that makes all four relationships fit so perfectly as she plays a character you would, in most cases, want to strangle, yet you can see exactly why Bloom is going to have such a hard time following his brother's one cardinal rule.

Where this film looses me is in its turning point, where it shifts gears, loses its whimsical nature and turns into a much more serious film. Brothers Bloom is made up of almost two entirely different films, and in its second half the characters don't seem to live up to the personalities Johnson created in the first half. Both halves work on their own, but the characters in the second half are not acting as they would have based on what we have witnessed.

Beyond the personality conflict, the change in tone is a bit jarring. With a running time of just under two hours, I would say the first 75 minutes or so are a jaunty romp involving accidental explosions, accidental love and an overall flurry of happy accidents. All of which was immensely entertaining. The second half pulls a 180 and goes down a much darker and certainly more serious path. So, when the characters start acting contrary to the personalities created throughout the film I began to feel removed from the story.

I'm not really sure if Johnson intended for one half of this film to be funnier than the other and he intended to head down a much darker more cynical path in the film's final moments, but it had me leaving the theater feeling a bit cold to the film overall. However, since that time I have warmed to it a little more and plan on catching it again on DVD. My hope is that I missed something in the opening half that will explain why the film ended up where it did tonally because the story itself works. My expectations are mixed, but it never hurts to hope for the best.