Matt here... this is our second review of THE BROTHERS BLOOM. Our first was conducted by Daniel Faulkner, out at the Toronto International Film Festival. He also spoke to director Rian Johnson for an exclusive interview, which you can read here. Now, OWF's Mark Clark was at the LFF last week where he saw THE BROTHERS BLOOM and took the shots from the premiere which accompanies this review. The con artist movie; film-makers are attracted to them because they provide an in-built opportunity for multi-layered story-telling, sleight of hand, a platform for tricks. But creating one is also a self-imposed test of nerves because if theres one story type thats hard to do well its this one. And the attraction for the audience? Well as the saying goes, an audience would rather be confused than bored In Rian Johnsons follow up to his mesmeric debut, the high-school film noir BRICK, he takes his chance at creative self-examination with his story about the itinerant BROTHERS BLOOM; a pair of con men first attracted by the possibilities of pulling the wool over cash-rich eyes when just a pair of troublesome boys, carrying with them a life experience of empty pockets and a collection of foster homes. Theres older brother Stephen (Mark Ruffalo), the careerist, showman, and architect of the scams, and his more sensitive sibling Bloom (Adrien Brody). The oddity surrounding Blooms name (Bloom Bloom?) is refreshingly never mentioned. Along the way theyve also inadvertently collected the Japanese explosives enthusiast, Bang Bang (Rinko Kikuchi). To keep things ticking along Johnson also adds a couple more story staples; Blooms desire to get out of the game, and of course boy meets girl, but as were told at the beginning - the sweetness is in the mix. The girl in question is Penelope (Rachel Weisz), and Stephens latest mark, a wealthy legacy-recipient who spends her days alone in a monstrously huge New Jersey mansion. She veers (literally) between absent-minded abuse of a Lambourghini and collecting hobbies, or as she puts it, watching other people doing things and then learning them herself. Stephens con set-ups are stories in themselves, three act structures in which Bloom becomes whoever is required, and theyve done it so many times that even his personality is a con. He doesnt know who he is and simply wants to find his own space, his unwritten life and thus himself. So in an apparently familiar ritual takes himself off for a few months, he and the rest of us knowing full well that Stephen is going to pull him in for that one last con. Johnson does ask interesting questions about parallels between the con game and story-telling, almost as if hes tipping us a wink at certain points, but at the same time he wraps his story in a wilfully playful style. There are flashes of Coen-esque slapstick and the consistently amusing, honest interplay between people who work at mis-trust and subterfuge for a living. Hes obviously having fun, and for the most part we do too, but after a while the inability to trust anything you see in their clever criminality does potentially create a little too much distance between us and them. You become inured to the possibility of lies. Even the one (possibly) honest streak Johnson provides of Blooms and Penelopes burgeoning romance is a little difficult to grab hold of. You cant help waiting for one to do an about face and leave the other in heart-broken dust. Within all of Johnsons smart games Brody, Weisz, Ruffalo and Kikuchi do everything their director requires. Brody possibly overdoes his hangdog shtick but his character admittedly doesnt have much latitude for comedy stylings, while Kikuchis near mute performance is a study in creating presence with a little action and a lot of face; her out of the blue rendition of a karaoke standard becoming both timely and a little jarring. Weisz is simply luminous, from our first glimpse of her hobby filled loneliness through to her fully fledged inclusion in the Bloom Brothers schemes she makes characterisation seem almost effortless. Shes funny, conflicted, and in the end realistic. Plus shes made vast improvements on her acting drunk skills. Mark Ruffalo almost steals the central ground from Brodys romantic seeker with his sly, rumpled older Bloom. The con game is a performance and he is the master. Putting Bloom through his never-ending role-playing may be mis-guided but beyond the showmanship is a simple understanding that his brother is his number one concern. Why he hasnt been given top billing with Brody and Weisz is almost the biggest mystery in the whole exercise. THE BROTHERS BLOOM is certainly entertaining and is a worthwhile follow up to Rian Johnsons debut, swapping Raymond Chandler for complex and adventuresome romance. At one point Stephen says The perfect con is where everyone gets just the thing they wanted., and if thats the case then Johnson has almost succeeded; but then again, when youre dealing with con artistry, in the cold light of day you might find youve been mis-sold.
