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Adrien Brody Pulls The Perfect Con
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A summer comedy without flatulence, what a concept! I have to admit though, the “Brothers Bloom” took a few minutes to get in gear, but once it did the rest of the film flowed like the plans of the two con artist brothers, Stephen and Bloom.
Stephen, played by Mark Ruffalo and Bloom, played by Brody are two brothers who have been bounced around from foster homes everywhere. They had a penchant for wearing out their welcomes with their young confidence man tendencies.
We get an amusing look into a moment in their childhood that has a strong influence on young Bloom. This is where he first starts to realize the cons him and his brother carry out are not “real” and he is the actor in the masterminded stories of his older brother.
Jump ahead twenty-five years and nothing has changed accept the brothers’ ages. Only now Bloom is the unwilling pawn of his brother that he can’t walk away from because he has no clue how to live a life that isn’t scripted. Bloom decides he needs to give it a shot, but his brother convinces him that they need to pull one last con. I’m not usually one to buy into that cliché’ “one last job” scenario, but with this film it makes sense.
Stephen has the target all picked out and this is where the film really started to take off. Enter Penelope Stamp, played by Rachel Weisz. I wasn’t sure right away where I remembered her from but then it hit me. She played opposite Ed Burns in, interestingly enough, another con-man themed film, Confidence. Weisz was excellent in this role as the bizarre heiress from New Jersey. Penelope has been closed off from the outside world most of her life for health and family reasons and developed the knack to teach herself various hobbies from reading books.
As she gets pulled into the scam, her off beat personality becomes tough for the brothers to figure out. Along with Blooms’ developing feelings for Penelope are just two of the snags in wrapping up the perfect con.
The film’s overall idea isn’t necessarily original, but the way the story is told and the little details are unlike a lot of movies I’ve seen in recent years. It’s almost like the director wanted the movie to be a con game on the audience because you really will wonder when the con is actually over.
The light-hearted subtle comedy keeps you smiling and the darker insecurities of Bloom and the hold his brother has on him keeps you guessing. For me, I kind of got the feeling Bloom wasn’t the only one who was scared of what “real” life may hold. I think Stephen’s need to keep using his brother as the star of his cons was fueled by the fact he would have no idea how to move on with his life without his brother there to be his shield.
Brody and Ruffalo are solid in their roles and the mostly silent sidekick of the brothers’, Bang Bang, played by Rinko Kikuchi was a nice dose of the originality I mentioned above. But Weisz was truly the highlight of this film. So don’t be swindled by a lot of those mediocre summer comedies that are out there. Get on board for the final scam of the Brothers’ Bloom and be happy you actually get the “perfect ending” for once.
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