The Brothers Bloom

[3.5
stars] [IMDb Link]

[Amazon Link]
(paid link)

Note: the Amazon link to the right—no, your right—takes you to their "Video On Demand" item; The Brothers Bloom DVD has only so far been released to the rental market. Odd move.

It's written and directed by Rian Johnson, whose previous movie was Brick, which I really liked. This one is slightly less accessible, but still refreshingly original and quirky.

Mark Ruffalo plays Stephen, while Adrien Brody plays his brother, "Bloom"; we never get a reliable first name for him. They are the world's greatest con artists, but Bloom is growing tired of a life that's essentially a series of fictions. Stephen lures him back into the game when the target is the lovely and extremely oddball heiress Penelope. Along for the ride is a chain-smoking Japanese lady, "Bang Bang" who never speaks, but enjoys shooting and blowing things up.

There are layers upon layers of subtrefuge, betrayal, flim-flam, and dishonesty. There are some very funny parts, and some very dark parts. The IMDB reveals that the brothers' names are from James Joyce: Stephen being from Stephen Daedalus, and Bloom being from Leopold Bloom. And Penelope has the same name as Odysseus' wife, an indirect reference via Joyce's Ulysses. These kind of literary references are too hifalutin' for me. But I still had fun.


Last Modified 2024-01-31 5:17 AM EDT