v a l en t i n e

Tonight, I saw The Brothers Bloom. It centers on two brothers, Stephen and Bloom, who have become renowned con men. Stephen (Mark Ruffalo) is the older of the two. He hatches their plans and writes out all of their cons like an intricate story – complete with symbolism and references and allusions to his favorite literary works. He loves what he does. Bloom (Adrien Brody) is his younger brother, the reluctant of the two. He plays the lead in all of Stephen’s cons, and he’s grown tired of reading lines and telling lies. Clearly, he yearns for something genuine for once in his life. Though he’s attempted to leave all this deceit behind him several times before, the fear that once he doesn’t have someone to tell him what’s next – someone like Stephen – he won’t know what to do with himself anymore. And so, he stays.

Enter Penelope (Rachel Weisz) , the eccentric shut-in “mark” (i.e., victim) for their con. She’s hardly ever left her mansion in her entire life, and she’s spent years by herself, collecting hobbies. She’s made pinhole cameras from watermelons, tried (and failed terribly) at racing expensive sports cars and learned to play a number of musical instruments from instruction books, but now she yearns for adventure. The Brothers Bloom soon find their way into her life and convince her that they’re antique salesmen. Quickly, they convince her to join them on a journey rife with danger and lies, but Bloom begins to develop feelings for Peneople, and in turn, feels guilty for the lies both brothers have fed her. It’s not long before Bloom begins to wonder if the real “mark” of Stephen’s con is not Penelope, but Bloom himself.

The film is directed by Rian Johnson, who previously directed Brick, a fantastic neo-noir story set in a high school. I liked Brick a lot, especially its 1950’s style inspired slang that the kids use throughout the film, the sharp cinematography and the beautiful ringing soundtrack. Since then, I’ve been eagerly awaiting Johnson’s next film, and this one hasn’t disappointed. I will admit though that Bloom doesn’t quite reach the brilliance of Brick, which has a special soft spot in my heart carved out for its magnificent shots, soundtrack and great lead character.

What’s to love in Bloom though? The performances by Brody, Wiesz and Ruffalo are all great. Rachel Weisz is a terrific, underrated actress that doesn’t get nearly the credit she deserves for a lot of her work (The Fountain!) Here, she really brings out the awkward quirks of a woman who hasn’t seen so much of the world, and emotes her passion for adventure in a really lovable way.

I’ve always liked many of the performances by Mark Ruffalo and Adrien Brody as well, especially Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind/Zodiac and The Pianist/The Darjeeling Limited respectively. Here, none of the actors disappoint. Brody really brings out the reluctance Bloom feels for most of the story, but he shines brightest when his character finally sheds his worries and acts on his own behalf for the first time in his life without his brother Stephen’s directions, culminating in a little scene of strangely uplifting petty larceny.

Oh, and I almost forgot, then there’s Bang Bang (Rinko Kikuchi)… the silent asian companion of the two brothers. She serves as the right-hand woman for Stephen (and Bloom), as well as demolitions expert. Though she’s a girl of few words, she’s certainly the most mysterious character, and while she barely has more than a few words throughout the whole movie, her use of body language and especially her facial expressions still puts a lot of mainstream “stars” to shame.

For con films, double-crosses and plot twists come with the territory, and I expected them. While this stories’ turns aren’t as shocking or unpredictable as some other films I’ve seen, the ending certainly does tug at the heart strings in a different way than I was expecting. Though I started watching the movie  hoping for a few big twists and turns (like many people do), I instead found myself surprised that the most successful element of the film was how the pieces for the characters fit together in the end.

While I started the movie in hopes for a little more carpet-pulling (from under me) than I got, I’m still pleased with the film, mainly due to the way the story arcs for each character fit together in the end. While Bloom isn’t nearly on the same intellectual plane as, say, a film like Memento, it still brings a fairly heavy emotional investment to its characters, and for that, I’d recommend it.