Adam's Thoughts on The Brothers Bloom

The Brothers Bloom cemented in my mind the myriad of reasons that Adrian Brody is one of my favorite modern-day actors. There were so many tremendous scenes in this movie that I can’t list them all, but one that I will list is the ending. In a struggle to realize his brother’s wish to get out of the life of conning after Bloom falls in love with Penelope, Bloom’s older brother, Stephen, finally realizes how much that living an “unwritten life” means to Bloom. So much so that he would feign a legit, life-ending injury so that Bloom could spend his days with Penelope. Two subtleties, which were even symbolic, in a sense that resonated with me happened around 13 minutes into the film when Bloom was sitting on the roof of a building. Stephen slams through the door so much so that it sounds like a gunshot. As the door closes graffiti comes into view of a man with a gun to his head. Also, this scene happened immediately after Bloom pointed his fingers at his head in the shape of a gun while on his way to the roof. The second subtlety happened around the half-hour mark when Penelope’s reflection is caught in a mirror. Looking closely you can see that the mirror is heart-shaped; symbolizing the love that Bloom was helplessly falling into with the wealthy, epileptic photographer. Overall, a thoroughly enjoyable film with a great call-back at the end (real blood turns brown) that resonated with me. Thank you, Jared, for a great choice in film.