RSS
Home
'The Brothers Bloom' is an extraordinary, if uneven exercise in con artistry
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
.jpg)
Courtesy of IMP Awards
Rian Johnson’s second film, The Brothers Bloom, his follow-up to 2005’s Brick, is such an ambitious, unique feature, sometimes remarkably so, that it’s very difficult to criticize as Johnson is undoubtedly a capable director who respects the art of filmmaking and demonstrates a kind of proficiency and confidence in every aspect of the process, rarely seen in directors with only two films to their credit. The Brothers Bloom is certainly a bold effort, yet it is that same boldness which ultimately impedes the film's narrative.
The four leads are extraordinary together. Weisz, Ruffalo, Brody and Kikuchi are all humorous, endearing and most importantly believable, both as a team and as individual characters. While I’m not usually too keen on needless sequels, if Johnson, by some strange manner can bring these characters together again in a series of films or a franchise, I would have no objections. There is one sequence, in particular, that really highlights the group’s chemistry. One of the characters is determined to become an artifact smuggler and decides to steal a certain book from a Prague museum. For me, this sequence, among others, is strangely reminiscent of Peter Sellers’ Pink Panther films, not in a plagiaristic sort of manner, but more spiritually similar. The robbing sequence gradually builds to a very hilarious climax that helps to solidify this odd, cinematic foursome as a clan to be reckoned with.
Johnson creates a whimsical, largely fantastic world with a lot of conning and very little consequence, building a fairly consistent, peculiar, enviable universe, with some dramatic elements interspersed throughout. Then, suddenly, as if afraid to fully embrace the absurdity of the story and characters, the director almost completely shifts the film to a more grave tone. The change is not overwhelming, but it is noticeable and significant enough for it to be mentioned here. The first hour and a half of the film is an eccentric, comedic yarn about a slickly dressed group of con artists who count on chance or risk more than anything else to get the job done. The last thirty minutes is almost another movie entirely, about two loving brothers whose lives have gone in completely different directions whether they choose to accept that notion or not. The second half of the picture is played as a straight drama. Though Adrien Brody’s final scenes with Ruffalo are brilliant and occasionally deeply affecting, they are so radically different from the earlier sequences that they don’t interlock well with the rest of the film.
Still, overall The Brothers Bloom is such a delightfully ambitious film that anyone would find it difficult not to derive some amount of satisfaction from it. Johnson struggles quite firmly to be unique and distinguishable, and although that uniqueness does not necessarily translate to a wholly compelling film, in an industry preoccupied with reboots, remakes, comic book adaptations, and another tired, “based on a true story” feature, that is definitely something to be applauded. The Brothers Bloom is very enjoyable summer fare and is currently playing at the Angelika Film Center in Houston.
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
