Cast: Rachel Weisz, Adrien Brody, Mark Ruffalo, Rinko Kikuchi, Robbie Coltrane, Maximilian Schell
Classification: 13LV
Running Time: 111 minutes
Rating: ***
The con game as an art form gets deconstructed in Rian Johnson's The Brothers Bloom, though with an emphasis on comic whimsy.
A talented cast that includes Rachel Weisz, Adrien Brody and Mark Ruffalo should ensure a few hours of cinematic amusement - just think of all the great con-game movies of the past - but these "Brothers" come up with a relatively joyless exercise.
Orphans Stephen (Ruffalo) and Bloom (Brody) have been con artists since their childhood of multiple foster homes. Stephen, the elder, designs the cons like an accomplished novelist. He always gives the emotional heart to each story, the role of the sap who needs a break, to Bloom.
But this temperamental younger brother chafes at the role; indeed he yearns for an "unscripted" life so he might discover his true character. He wants to quit.
Of course, the movie must have "one last con". The mark is a charmingly eccentric New Jersey heiress, Penelope (Weisz), and the con is a convoluted scheme revolving around antiquarian books and smuggling. As things move from Jersey to Prague to Mexico and finally Russia, Bloom seems to discover real happiness in a romance with Penelope. But - heavy on the strings here - is this love or is it a con? Even Bloom seems uncertain.
One yearns for real tension in the question of what is real and where lies the true heart of a con. Instead, the film delivers light postures and fluffy games. - Hollywood Reporter
If you liked Bugsy Malone or Miller's Crossing you might like this one.
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