The Brothers Bloom [Blu-ray]

The Brothers Bloom [Blu-ray] Review

There is a lot going on in this movie besides a complex con. Two brothers, Steven and William Bloom are con artists, and that is artists with a capital A. Steven (the older brother) creates cons, so we are told like a dead Russian novelist wrote stories. The best cons are ones where everyone gets what they want. William, the younger brother is shy and reclusive. He denies he is really that way, that is just how his brother scripts him. Yet when William is alone, he is still shy and reclusive. William wants an "unwritten life" and leaves his brother, only to be found by his brother months later who needs him for one final con.

Somewhere along the line an Asian woman who speaks very little English, or so it seems, has joined the brothers. She is an expert in demolition. She appears to understand English. Take note of her actions which are typically being done in the background as they are symbolic of the scene or mood of the characters, especially William.

Steven creates cons for his shy brother to meet women, whom William rejects because he is convinces himself he doesn't have true feelings for her, because his role is scripted by his brother to talk to her.

The final con involves Rachel Weisz, as Penelope a shy rich recluse who has learned much about life from books and has mastered many arts, including card tricks, which leads one to think, "Is she part of the con being played on William, or is she actually being conned?" The beauty of the movie is that we never really find out, although there are all kinds of clues which makes us suspect something more is going on.

Penelope, in spite of all of her smarts has yet to master the left peddle of her sports car. She willingly goes along with the cons and at one point takes the lead.

The movie is masterfully done. I was hooked after the first con they perform as kids. Kudos.

The Brothers Bloom [Blu-ray] Overview

Studio: Uni Dist Corp. (summit) Release Date: 09/29/2009 Rating: Pg13

The Brothers Bloom [Blu-ray] Specifications

Writer-director Rian Johnson’s The Brothers Bloom has a lot going for it, like an excellent cast doing good work, fabulous locations, a sumptuous look, and some interesting ideas in a genre that’s rife with possibilities. Somehow, though, the film is a whole that’s less than the sum of its parts. We meet siblings Stephen and Bloom, the products of numerous foster homes, at ages 13 and 10, respectively, as they’re starting to develop the skills and savvy that will help them become the full-blown scam-meisters they are when we meet up with them in their thirties (with Mark Ruffalo taking over as Stephen and Adrien Brody as Bloom). It seems Bloom wants to pack it in and live "an unwritten life" free of his brother’s elaborate schemes. But Stephen, who is now accompanied by a sidekick named Bang Bang (Babel’s Rinko Kikuchi, in an amusing, mostly silent performance as what Stephen refers to as "our fifth Beatle"), convinces his younger brother to take part in one last swindle, this one targeting the filthy rich Penelope Stamp (Rachel Weisz), who lives alone in what’s described as the biggest house on the eastern seaboard. Penelope’s an oddball, to say the least, having overcome a sickly childhood and become a master hobbyist whose skills rage from origami and playing six or eight instruments to riding a unicycle while balancing two chainsaws. Posing as antiquities dealers, the brothers pull her into a scheme that takes the trio all over the world (Greece, Prague, Montenegro, St. Petersburg, Mexico). Needless to say, complications ensue. Penelope turns out to be pretty good at the con game herself; what’s more, we know from the moment Stephen warns Bloom not to fall in love with her that he’ll quickly do exactly that. For sure, The Brothers Bloom has its high points, with surreal touches and amusing moments that help counterbalance its fairly arch overall tone. But in the end, it feels as if Johnson is trying too hard, sacrificing character for cleverness, and it’s the audience--even those who enjoy and are adept at sorting through the various clues and red herrings to figure out what’s supposedly really happening--that feels conned, or at least finds it difficult to care. --Sam Graham

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