Who's Conning Who?

Adrien Brody, Academy Award winner for best actor (The Pianist 2002) and Mark Ruffalo(Zodiac 2007) star as siblings, who have been working cons since they were children. There is constant tension between the two as Bloom (Brody) is anxious to leave their con game life-style altogether. Brother Stephen (Ruffalo) is quite content with the arrangement and relentlessly lures his bro back into the game. Enter Rachel Weisz, (The Constant Gardner) as the bored and lonely heiress, Penelope who is the mark for their last con. 

Con-men films are great when they let the audience in on the con although ultimately the audience is conned as well. “The Sting” comes to mind as an example and “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” both let us in somewhat but totally fool us in the end. “The Brothers Bloom”, lets us in but then muddies the water near the end of the film; so much that we really don’t know what to think. I felt conned, confused and disappointed. It plays with your emotions and logic.

Another quandary in the film was the editing. Too many scenes are cut so close to one another. The filmmaker, Rian Johnson doesn’t take advantage of many really wonderful moments that could have been prolonged. For instance, just imagine Brody and Weisz on a moonlit night at sea dancing together. This was a gorgeous scene that should have been lengthened. It was choppy as with other scenes. The film also has several endings. A much shorter film would’ve ultimately played better. Twenty minutes before the credits are rolling, one is ready for the film to end.

What I did like are all of the actors’ amazing performances, the quirky co-worker Bang, Bang and the beautifully framed scenes. The locations are visually appealing as well, seascapes, rolling country sides and the architecture of Prague; the location of the final con. “The Brother’s Bloom” has a lot going for it, major script revisions and better editing are what’s needed here.

The film starts out by flashbacking to the brothers as children and giving us a glimpse of how the duo grew up. Brody is clearly controlled by older brother Ruffalo and simply goes along with his elaborate scripted cons. We also view his shyness and awkwardness with girls and know that he longs for a girl friend but is insecure. When he finally does meet the lonely and beautiful recluse Weisz as an adult, he falls for her and in a big way. The only trouble with this scenario is that she is the person being conned and that’s a no-no in the con-men game. There are explicit rules like, “Don’t fall in love with the mark!”

The film locations vary from New Jersey, Montenegro, St. Petersburg, Prague and Mexico. The settings are beautifully filmed and framed. I enjoyed the locations, hoping the script would improve but was nonetheless disappointed. If you are a fan of any of these three stars, then I suggest that you see the film as the characters have lots of on-screen time. I especially enjoyed all of Weisz’s hidden talents and her quest of adventure.

Sarah Adamson © 2009