The Brothers Bloom

Director Rian Johnson’s sophomore film makes a similar claim–that story and life are the same, that we create our own narrative and fulfill the role as a title character. Brothers Stephen (Mark Ruffalo) and Bloom (Adrian Brody) learn this truth at an early age, but choose to take it one step further–if they can create a story for someone to live out, they could swindle a whole lot of money out of ’em. Their entire lives become recreated epics, with Stephen as screenwriter and director and Bloom as the tragic hero. Together with their silent demolitions expert Bang-Bang (Rinko Kikuchi), they sweep unsuspecting millionaires into their contrived story until they can finally con them out of their wealth.

Eventually Bloom tires of living someone else’s story. He’s tired of playing a role in Stephen’s elaborate schemes. Yet Stephen has one final con for the pair, an eccentric heiress named Penelope (Rachel Weisz) who is living an incredibly boring existence inside her east-coast mansion. Bloom instantly is attracted to Penelope, but as the plot gets decisively more complex, everyone is left wondering who is running this con. There are Russian mobsters, a suspicious Belgian, former con artists, and plenty of other fun details. This is a film about details, where camels walk around in the background and cameos byBrick’s Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Nora Zehetner require the viewer’s full attention.

Stylish and mildly cerebral, this somehow feels like a Wes Anderson film, only a bit more light-hearted. I loved Johnson’s re-imagining of the noir genre with Brick; this film plays like a classic caper filled with twists and turns, romance and intrigue. The scenes are colorful and rich, with beautiful settings like Athens, Prague, Montenegro, and St. Petersburg. The actors give charming performances–particularly Weisz–and the plot moves along at a steady pace. My only major complaint is that there are a bit too many “wait…is this just another con?” moments, which can become tiresome by the climax. With so much deceit, it’s difficult to trust any of the characters’ motives by the conclusion.