Last night I had a chance to see a screening of The Brothers Bloom at the Newport Beach Film Festival.
The movie is the second film from writer/director Rian Johnson, whose first film Brick was one of my favorite films from 2005. With Brick Johnson was able to take a fresh spin on the Film Noir genre by setting it in a high school and creating a slang language that made the world the characters lived in seem unique and original. There was a lot of style present in the writing and direction, and with Bloom Johnson is able to once again create a world that is stylistic in it's own way without feeling like he is repeating himself as an artist.
For his second film, Rian Johnson approaches the genre of the con man, or grifter. Adrien Brody plays Bloom and Mark Ruffalo plays Stephen, brothers who have floated through the foster care system, constantly being returned for bad behavior. It is during this phase of their life that they learn their true talents as con artist. They grow up to become some of the most famous and successful con men.
Stephen is the idea man. He is constantly creating elaborate stories for the brothers to thrive in. They create the perfect situation for their mark so that they can take them for all they have. Bloom is the actor, portraying each character his brother draws out for him with such realism that the targets never know what hits them.
The movie is the second film from writer/director Rian Johnson, whose first film Brick was one of my favorite films from 2005. With Brick Johnson was able to take a fresh spin on the Film Noir genre by setting it in a high school and creating a slang language that made the world the characters lived in seem unique and original. There was a lot of style present in the writing and direction, and with Bloom Johnson is able to once again create a world that is stylistic in it's own way without feeling like he is repeating himself as an artist.
For his second film, Rian Johnson approaches the genre of the con man, or grifter. Adrien Brody plays Bloom and Mark Ruffalo plays Stephen, brothers who have floated through the foster care system, constantly being returned for bad behavior. It is during this phase of their life that they learn their true talents as con artist. They grow up to become some of the most famous and successful con men.
Stephen is the idea man. He is constantly creating elaborate stories for the brothers to thrive in. They create the perfect situation for their mark so that they can take them for all they have. Bloom is the actor, portraying each character his brother draws out for him with such realism that the targets never know what hits them.
Bloom has become a bit tired of the game. He doesn't feel like anything in his life is real, it's all a world of make believe that his brother has invented. He wants out. He wants to live a normal life and be a part of something that is authentic and true. But like most con men he can't stay away for long.
Stephen brings him back in for one last con, his best yet. The target: a wealthy eccentric recluse named Penelope played by Rachel Weisz. Stephen cooks up a complex game to bring Penelope out of her shell and on the adventure of her life, while at the same time giving Bloom what he has longed for: something real.
The film is really funny and quirky with lots of slapstick moments of humor. The brothers have a great chemistry with each other, and Weisz plays up the lonely odd spoiled kid with great humor and innocence. But it's the brothers side kick Bang Bang, played by Rinko Kikuchi, that steals the show. She barely utters a single word in the entire movie but brings a strong vaudeville type of physical humor to the role. She is mysterious and sadistic and flat out funny and charming. The relationship she has with the brothers and eventually with Penelope is very sincere and funny. All four play off of each other with great ease that it all seems natural.
Stephen brings him back in for one last con, his best yet. The target: a wealthy eccentric recluse named Penelope played by Rachel Weisz. Stephen cooks up a complex game to bring Penelope out of her shell and on the adventure of her life, while at the same time giving Bloom what he has longed for: something real.
The film is really funny and quirky with lots of slapstick moments of humor. The brothers have a great chemistry with each other, and Weisz plays up the lonely odd spoiled kid with great humor and innocence. But it's the brothers side kick Bang Bang, played by Rinko Kikuchi, that steals the show. She barely utters a single word in the entire movie but brings a strong vaudeville type of physical humor to the role. She is mysterious and sadistic and flat out funny and charming. The relationship she has with the brothers and eventually with Penelope is very sincere and funny. All four play off of each other with great ease that it all seems natural.
The plot is quite complex with lots of twists and turns that you would expect from a good con story. I never fully was able to figure out who was conning who and I was left guessing till the very end. And even when I thought I had it figured out, it was wrapped up in a way that was very satisfying.
The film starts out with a lot of laughs and keeps the pace throughout most of the film but some of the laughs did die off near the end as things got a bit more serious. As Rian Johnson explained to the crowd after the film, that was an essential element to telling the story. The characters lived in a fantasy created by themselves so it was necessary to make things light and fun for the audience to be a part of that story as well. As things got away from their story and more real then so did the tone and pacing, which makes sense and actually enhances the meaning of the ending.
The writing was good with sharp snappy dialogue and multifaceted characters. There were a few plot points that I didn't feel were explained well but that could just be editing for timing purposes or maybe I missed something. There are a lot of beautiful locations that are photographed well to share the majesty of the destinations and put you into the scene.
The Brothers Bloom was an extremely fun and entertaining movie. It was originally supposed to be out last year but got pushed back till this summer. I was highly anticipating this film because of my love for Brick and it didn't disappoint. Rian Johnson is now two for two and I'm excited to see what he has next. The movie will open in limited release on May 15 and open in wide release on May 29. It's not your typical summer film but it's good counter programming to have it open against some of the big titles. If you are tired of mindless stories with lots of explosions and you want to see something smart and fun I highly recommend you check out The Brothers Bloom.
The film starts out with a lot of laughs and keeps the pace throughout most of the film but some of the laughs did die off near the end as things got a bit more serious. As Rian Johnson explained to the crowd after the film, that was an essential element to telling the story. The characters lived in a fantasy created by themselves so it was necessary to make things light and fun for the audience to be a part of that story as well. As things got away from their story and more real then so did the tone and pacing, which makes sense and actually enhances the meaning of the ending.
The writing was good with sharp snappy dialogue and multifaceted characters. There were a few plot points that I didn't feel were explained well but that could just be editing for timing purposes or maybe I missed something. There are a lot of beautiful locations that are photographed well to share the majesty of the destinations and put you into the scene.
The Brothers Bloom was an extremely fun and entertaining movie. It was originally supposed to be out last year but got pushed back till this summer. I was highly anticipating this film because of my love for Brick and it didn't disappoint. Rian Johnson is now two for two and I'm excited to see what he has next. The movie will open in limited release on May 15 and open in wide release on May 29. It's not your typical summer film but it's good counter programming to have it open against some of the big titles. If you are tired of mindless stories with lots of explosions and you want to see something smart and fun I highly recommend you check out The Brothers Bloom.
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