The Brothers Bloom (2009)

The Brothers Bloom is a movie which, when it was out, almost saw at the cinema. I don’t know why, but I ended up watching The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I completely forgot about this movie until a friend of mine mentioned it and told me it was a movie I had to see. As he doesn’t exactly has the same taste in movies (he liked Smokin Aces 2 and Operation Endgame for example) I wasn’t sure I would like this one, but decided to give it a chance.

Adrien Brody and Mark Ruffalo are brothers Bloom and Stephen, who have been con men since they were children. They have been doing it for such a long time that they are the best in the business. Bloom doesn’t like what he does anymore and has been trying to quit several times, because he thinks he’s not able to feel any real emotions anymore. Of course Stephen isn’t happy with it, but agrees to respect his choice if Bloom agrees to one big, final con which will make them enough money to stop doing it.
The target they choose for this con is the extremely wealthy Penelope (Rachel Weisz), who lives as a recluse. Together with their partner in crime Bang Bang (Rinko Kikuchi) the brothers manage to find a way to get in contact with her which will allow Bloom to use his charm on her and win her heart. Their plan is big and will have them travel to Europe and South America to make it convincing for Penelope.

Although it has some drama, I would call The Brothers Bloom a feel good film. Its tone is light and funny and it has a ton of unexpected things happening. An example is Bang Bang (who never talks). It is explained how she ended up working with the brothers but the story is so strange that the only thing you can do is laugh about it. She is constantly throwing things away and is an expert with explosives. I think she would fit perfectly in one of the Chaplin movies as she is very funny.
Another thing I really liked about this movie was the fact that although it is set in the current world, the way they travel isn’t modern at all. It seems that they don’t know about planes as they travel to Europe by boat and once they arrive they take an old luxurious train to travel to their destination. It gives the movie an old school feel, like it is set during the 20’s or 30’s.

I always really enjoy watching movies about con men. A good example is something like The Sting with Robert Redford. The Brothers Bloom is another good example where I was constantly wondering if I was conned myself. It is something which makes the last part of the movie so good as it plays with your emotions, which led to a satisfying ending. The little bits of drama only pull you further into the film. The Brothers Bloom really is an enjoyable movie which you should watch.

Score: 9