The Brothers Bloom is a fantastical story of two con-artist brothers and their helpless mark. It's the second film from director Rian Johnson (whose first film, Brick, will probably show up in this feature sometime), and he crafted a funny, touching and beautifully shot film. The movie tells the tale of two brothers, Stephen (Mark Ruffalo) and Bloom (Adrien Brody), who are the world's greatest con men. Stephen plans the cons, Bloom plays the parts. This is no Matchstick Men or The Spanish Prisoner though, and The Brothers Bloom aren't your standard breed of con artists. See, their cons are less dubious swindles as they are adventure stories. Sure, they get paid off in the end, but they've given their mark the ride of a lifetime, and in the end, everyone gets what they wanted. All of this is set up by the film's brilliantly poetic opening sequence, which lets you know right off the bat that this story is far more fairy tale than reality.
It's that fairy tale-type of atmosphere that might be the most appealing thing about The Brothers Bloom. Johnson has crafted a bright, vibrant world full of quirky, interesting characters, and you almost wish you could spend more time just wandering around and getting to know all of these characters better. Even the minor characters (like Robbie Coltrane's curator) feel fleshed out. There's a fantastic world that's been built here, and you'll catch little background details the 2nd and 3rd times around that add a tremendous depth to the movie.
The other thing that makes this movie so fantastic is the cast, which is uniformly brilliant. The three leads all give amazing performances. Brody is the character who undergoes the biggest arc, making a real transformation from dour and depressed to finding almost a childlike joy. It's the least flashy role in the movie, but the movie would fall apart without Brody anchoring it. Good as Brody is though, Rachel Weisz and Ruffalo are better. Weisz is absolutely fantastic as the eccentric shut-in Penelope. She brings a pure joy to the screen every scene she's in, but there's a vulnerability and sadness under the surface. She is, in short, great. Ruffalo is great as well, like he always is (seriously, one of the most underrated actors working today). He's got a natural charm and charisma, and he and Brody have a great chemistry.
Johnson's script is sharp and funny, and doesn't feel the need to hold the audience's hand and point out every detail that might come back into play later on. It took me a second viewing of the film before I really appreciated just how well-constructed the story is. It's not a hard plot to follow, but it rewards paying attention and multiple viewings. It's got some third act problems, but they certainly don't sink the film, and it ends on a high note.
There's a kind of child-like joy to a lot of The Brothers Bloom. It's a story about the tales we tell ourselves to get through life. As Weisz's Penelope says near the end of the film, "There's no such thing as an unwritten life, only a badly written one."
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