The Brothers Bloom (Rian Johnson, 2008): USA

Reviewed by Frances Rozhko. Viewed at the AFI Filmfest, Arclight Hollywood, CA.

The Brothers Bloom by Rian Johnson was by far my favorite film. This is definitely a film that anyone and everyone could see and fall in love with. It was a very interesting perspective on two brothers who grow up to become most successful con men.

My mother came up to the festival to visit my sister and I on the night of this premiere. She luckily came on a good day, as she enjoyed this film as much as the both of us did. This film stood out for a few different reasons. I was very interested to see the performances of the three main actors in this film: Rachel Weisz (The Mummy), Mark Ruffalo (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), and Adrian Brody (The Jacket). The fact that I have seen all of them in different films before made this one especially exciting to watch. Also, the fact that they were all in it together was pretty rad as well.

As I came into the Arclight Theatre fifteen minutes early, I caught up on the brief summary of the film before it started. Rian Johnson did an amazing job as director on this film. He definitely made the film interesting and creative in his own way. I really enjoyed the humorous aspect of the characters and felt that it played in really well and made the film stand out. He did a good job analyzing the story; it was not in any way confusing to understand, and was very artistic in its own way. The actors were very natural. I felt that this was the perfect combination of talent to make the movie stand out the way it did. All of the actors brought something different to the table and it definitely made it interesting to watch.

The first segment of the film shows the brothers as young boys. It shows how they go through numerous foster homes but always stick together no matter what they do. It showed how Stephen (the older brother) begins to take up the characteristics of a true con artist at a very young age. He devises plans everywhere, from hooking his little brother up with a crush, to getting rid of bad foster parents. Then the plot skips a range of years to a con the brothers perform as Bloom gets shot. This part especially stood out to me. I remember being shocked as I saw this hapen, i wondered why they had a character die so fast in the film before anyone even knows anything about him! Then I realized they were acting out a con, which got me. It shows the younger brother losing passion and respect for these cons, and shows his desire to live a real man’s life.

A scene that I can’t forget about in the film was when Penelope (Weisz) was doing the card tricks and acting out her monologue. This part was particularly intriguing to me, and the Director even spoke more on it at the Q & A after the film. The way she had the ability to multi-task really amazed me. She had a gracefulness in the way she slid the cards across the table and spoke about her life story, and it was really interesting to watch. I also really loved Bang Bang. Although she had absolutely no lines besides a couple of  words, her character stood out to me most. Every time the camera pointed toward her she was doing something crazy, which made her character so funny and mysterious. I thought that all of the actors did an amazing job in the film and also in their cons as well. So well, in fact, that i couldn’t tell the difference between reality or con.

I would have to relate this movie to the Ocean’s series. This movie has the same feel as Ocean’s 11 and Ocean’s 12. It’s almost like a mysterious business that these people are involved in. The criminal feel is there as well, but at the same time it is humorous. The actors relate to this film as well, two handsome men, and one gorgeous woman.

This film is definitely a go see. It will keep you guessing on who is coning who and will have you laughing, smiling, and loving what you see. Anyone who likes a good film should go see this one, it will satisfy your needs.