Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #105 in Movie
• Released on: 2009-10-26
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Running time: 114 minutes

Customer Reviews

"The best con is one in which everyone gets what they want"
Whimsical, sentimental, colorful, and both funny and awkward, THE BROTHERS BLOOM is original in its context and characters even if the plot itself is relatively predictable. The tale of two brothers who learn at an early age their skill at pulling off confidence schemes (all in the film's well designed and funny first 10 minutes). They continue to run cons into their early thirties when Bloom (Brody), the younger of the two, is faced with a bit of a quarter-life-crisis and decides to quit conning alongside his older brother Stephen (Mark Ruffalo). Of course he returns on the premise of helping Stephen carry off 'one last job,' the most glaringly cliched element in the entire film. All is forgiven however as the cast of characters unfolds, and director Rian Johnson rolls out more story arc. We meet Bang Bang (Rinko Kikuchi), a semi-mute Asian woman with a penchant for blowing things to pieces and Penelope Stamp (Rachel Weisz), a billionaire heiress & collector of strange hobbies. Weisz is convincingly awkward, funny, intelligent, and ultimately lovable. Weisz, Brody, and Ruffalo give good performances but are still all outclassed by Rinko Kikuchi's portrayal of Bang Bang. She communicates much with few to no words. She is the master of the subtle facial expression and she singlehandedly raised this film from 3 stars to 4 for this viewer.

Rian Johnson's directorial style resembles Wes Anderson's, but with more of a penchant for sweetness. THE BROTHERS BLOOM is littered with sentimental twists, moments, and visuals. Johnson's craft is still developing, with his this, his sophomore effort, falling slightly short of his wonderful first film Brick. The gentle goodnaturedness of the film is surprisingly refreshing in a movie marketplace littered with grit, angst, and cynicism. I think this is why the film scored so poorly with paid reviewers; they were too afraid of seeming soft by liking the movie and being branded as 'sentimental.' The film has a sweetness to it that may turn off some viewers, but to me is was a nice change of pace from the typical Hollywood offering.

As the film progresses it does a decent enough job of not revealing too much and providing the viewer a plausible suspension of disbelief. There are a few moments that don't ring true (the first encounter with Diamond Dog at the bar for example--actually I didn't like the Diamond Dog character at all and thought he was superfluous to the plot and movie as a whole) but they are few and far between. My strongest criticism of the film is that Johnson, Brody, and the rest of the cast know how clever certain elements of the film are, and they let the audience know that they know. Clever is fine, but I don't need to be reminded every ten minutes that the movie is oh so smart. Another confusing plot element is Penelope's seeming inability to drive a sports car--this from a woman who has mastered more than a few difficult hobbies including pinhole photography and martial arts!

Overall this is a very enjoyable movie if you appreciate warmth in film. It's sentimental. It's bright and fun and intelligent. Viewers who prefer their cinema to be dark and brooding should probably skip this one and watch Mystic River or The Dark Knight instead. However, if you loved The Life Aquatic you'll probably love THE BROTHERS BLOOM.

4/5 Stars. Well worth renting or even owning.

A bit of Sunshine above the dreck
For all people who love the beauty of awkwardness and a wonderful dialogue between characters, this movie is for you. The humor and charm of the first half of the film is only made more enjoyable by the heartfelt latter half. Enchanting performances by all particularly the short appearances of The Brothers in their youth, though Brody, Weiss, Ruffalo, and Kikuchi all deserve acclaim.
For some reason movie critics tanked this gem, but the people who went to see it tend toward rave review. Perhaps the critics weren't paid for a positive opinion in a timely manner, or maybe they just can't let themselves enjoy a piece of cinema that isn't some crappy Hollywood remake. See with friends, and I hope you enjoy it as I did.

Quirky Melancholy Blend...
Got the movie because of the cast. Rachel Weisz, Adrien Brody, Mark Ruffalo any one of them is watchable but all three together was a must see in my book.

A story of con men brothers who grew up perfecting the con game and crafting the perfect story. Well, one brother anyway. Ruffalo writes the scripts and Brody fumbles through more and more complicated plots hating the game and detesting himself for playing it. With the promise of an end in sight they agree to one more con before parting ways.

The con involves an eccentric little rich girl (Weisz) who apparently has a stable full of the identical car because as she crashes one another is delivered in its place. After crashing said car into Bloom (Brody) she becomes intrigued by him and his story. She is a very talented self-taught woman with a thirst for adventure. This new con, new script doesn't quite end up the way it was intended to end.

Great acting. The cast must have had a blast. And this is a quirky almost whimsical film with an old fashioned feel. It reminded me of Pushing Daisies if you had an opportunity to ever watch that little television gem. Weisz has a few interesting scenes, one a little embarrassing that puts it in the "not for kids" category. (Think the diner scene in Harry and Sally but on a train.) Though kids would probably not be real interested in the slower pace of the film, so that might be a moot point.

Be warned. As charming as this campy quirky adventure is, the pervasive thick vein of melancholy almost chokes it at times. Bloom grows so embittered he is willing to chew his leg off to escape the trap he's in. Enter his brother who loves Bloom enough to write the ultimate script.