Mark Ruffalo, Adrien Brody and Rinko Kikuchi (from left to right) star in "The Brothers Bloom."

Brothers Bloom: Boys will be boys

By: Alexia Lang

Posted: 6/1/09

Explosives boom, dangers loom and nothing is as it seems in the world seen through the eyes of "The Brothers Bloom."

Written and directed by Rian Johnson, "The Brothers Bloom" is an off-the-wall tale of two brothers who take a little longer than normal to grow out of their mischievous stages.

The boys spent their childhoods in a series of bad foster homes with each stay ending abruptly after they pull one of their elaborate schemes.

Stephen, the older brother played by Mark Ruffalo, prides himself in being the playwright who carefully develops the cons.

Bloom, played by Adrien Brody, is presented as a helpless, spineless, victim of his brother's whims to gain a few bucks.

His one desire throughout the entire film is to live a life that is not scripted by his big brother.

Wanting so badly to retire from the conman business, Bloom agrees to participate in just one more scam with his brother - but it turns out to be a lot more complicated than expected.

The story line, as drafted by Stephen, entails Bloom meeting Penelope (Rachel Weisz), a lonely, single heiress from New Jersey, romance her, take her on the adventure of a lifetime, steal her millions and leave her safe and sound where they found her.

It fits perfectly with the brother's motto of 'The perfect con ends with everyone getting what they want.' Penelope gets adventure and the boys get the money.

However, when Penelope quickly sails into the unknown with Bloom, Stephen and their pyrotechnic associate, Bang Bang (Rinko Kikuchi), no one plans for love to truly blossom in the unusual situation.

Presented with a strange sense of humor, "The Brothers Bloom" is a comedy meets film noir.

Johnson calls it a "dark comedy." He said he wanted to mesh a romance, action flick and comedy all into one so it would have appeal to everyone.

He certainly did just that.

It is the supposed danger of the action that brings the characters together and the, at times, ridiculousness of the action that keeps the audience laughing.

With this only being Johnson's second film, "The Brothers Bloom" has tremendous strengths and only a few weaknesses which will surely be worked out with experience.

One asset is the phenomenal cinematography captured as the group travels from Athens to Prague to Mexico to St. Petersburg on their grand adventure.

Throughout, Johnson experiments with some unique camera shots, but somehow he makes them work in this artsy flick.

On the downside, the naivety of the characters (and their apparent obliviousness to it) borders on annoying. Stephen seems to have no concept of the fact that his cons can hurt people, Bloom is a grown man who can't seem to get a spine until it's too late, Penelope goes around handing out millions like they are 25-cent packs of gum and Bang Bang seems to be the all-knowing one and yet she doesn't say a word.

This film is fun - there is no disputing that. And Johnson, who received the Sundance Film Festival's Special Jury Prize for Originality of Vision for his first feature film "Brick," as well as many other awards, gets my vote for creativity.

Laugh a little, cry a little and nod to that sense of adventure hidden within us all. You know you want to see this movie.

Grade: A-

One-on-one with the director

During a world tour promoting "The Brothers Bloom," Writer and Director Rian Johnson sat down with U-News to discuss the creative processes behind his new film.

Although this is only Johnson's second film to be released for the big screen, making films is not a newly-found passion. The graduate of USC's School of Cinema-Television has been entranced by the film-making process since seventh grade when he began making short films with his buddies.

He said he thinks he has found success because he is doing what he loves and he gives it his all.

"I would tell film students to just keep at it and don't give up on your dreams," Johnson said. "I spent my life walking around with a video camera."

Johnson said he doesn't think he will ever assume he has "arrived." He said his passion is learning more about how to be good at what he does and every film is a learning experience.
alang@unews.com