The Brothers Bloom

Mark Ruffalo and Adrien Brody are The Brothers Bloom

Rian Johnson has emerged as one of the most interesting directorial talents of the last ten years or so. I first encountered his work, knowingly, with his Sci-Fi yarn Looper where he displayed a knack for dialogue, characterization and visual dynamism. I noticed that he had directed some of the better Breaking Bad episodes and this led me to his second feature, The Brothers Bloom.

Spurred by David Edelstein's largely positive review, I was eager to see this, but its quick exit from theaters led me to forget about it until I noticed it in my streaming queue. The Brothers Bloom is a con movie with roots in the screwball comedies of the 30s. Rachel Weisz plays a crazed heiress while the titular brothers who are out to con her are played by Mark Ruffalo and Adrien Brody. The leads are solid and playful, my wife commented that this was the first time she thought Brody exuded charm. 

Most critics were put off by the unevenness of tone in the film. it resembles a farce like Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, but has a thematic seriousness and sense of unease that keep popping up at odd junctures. Johnson has crammed the film with a host of allusions and references: The Man Who Would Be King, The Conformist, The Band, Diane Arbus, and, especially, Ulysses. Some may find this to be pretentious baggage dropped in a wacky farce, but I found the film to be bolstered and vivified by Johnson's lively intellect. 

I was not for a moment bored by The Brothers Bloom finding it both visually and intellectually stimulating. I interpreted the brothers as representing two sides of the same coin: one the conscious side, the other expressing the unconscious. The conscious one sacrifices himself at the end so his brother can go off with his lady love in much the way rational constraints must be cast off if one is to commit to one's beloved. There is much to chew on in the film: Johnson's use of hats, the maps/scripts the brothers use in their cons as meta texts and the possibility that the brothers are "wandering Jews". The Brothers Bloom is overstuffed and silly, but I found a lot in it to delight over and ponder. Johnson is laboring on the new Star Wars film, but I am more psyched to see his first feature, Brick. (8/3/16)