A New Twist on an old Con

Listen up, all you yegs: Rian Johnson, the writer/director who brought film noir back into style with 2005’s Brick is back, this time adding his magic touch to the con film. If Brick was his Maltese Falcon, than The Brothers Bloom is his The Sting.

Johnson has a knack for snappy dialogue and wonderful characterization, and is an extremely literal director, a phrase that here means he’s obsessed with storytelling. There’s a touch of Wes Anderson’s style is Johnson’s second picture, but the sheer cinematic joy is all his. Besides, there’s something to be said for a film whose two main characters’ names are Stephen and Bloom, the centerpieces of James Joyce’s Ulysses.

The best thing about The Brothers Bloom is the characters; no doubt about it. The plot is a fantastic ride of twists and turns, but it’s the actors and the unique characters they play that are the real money in this con caper.

Mad props to Mark Ruffalo and Adrien Brody as Stephen and Bloom, respectively, for bringing devilish wit and humanity to the titular characters. Stephen is all action and smarts, an author of “dead Russian writer” proportions who uses real life to spin his stories into cons. Bloom just follows his brother’s lead, immersing himself in whatever character his brother has written for him, which leaves him feeling like a man without a life.

That is, until Stephen sets his sights on Penelope (Rachel Weisz) – a rich orphan who collects hobbies in her massive New Jersey mansion – as their final con, setting into play a rich tapestry of events culminating in a conclusion at once witty, shocking and heartbreaking. That’s all I’ll give as far as the plot goes – it’s a ride one has to go on for themselves.

The leading ladies are the real thieves in this one, stealing practically every scene they’re in. Weisz is a sweet, sexy wonder full of mischief and childlike excitement that leaps right off the screen as has you jumping up and down for joy. The scene where she describes how best to not get cheated will performing a series of elaborate card tricks will knock you down flat.

Save an explosion of applause for Rinko Kikuchi, who plays a nearly silent Japenese wonder criminal named Bang Bang. Kikuchi already proved she could act in Babel, but her comic turn here, which is at times as melancholy as it is erotic, better land her some more starring roles, pronto. She’s the spice that makes Bloom really sizzle.

For a break from all the summer blockbusters, The Brothers Bloom is just the ticket. It’s like running through the sprinklers after days of going to the pool: fun, fast and full of moving life. What else is summer all about?