Dave's Thoughts on The Brothers Bloom

Right off the bat I have to say "my bad" for not doing this sooner. Finals week, studying, etc. took up a great deal of time after the discussion period started, but that's all over with now. On to the flick...

Beginning with the first scene, Rian Johnson gives me something to like about The Brothers Bloom. While I didn't know it at the time, that first con the brothers pull of as children is a great piece of foreshadowing. As Stephen and Bloom move towards their "last" con 25 years later, Bloom displays some of the same characteristics as he did with the children in the movie's first con. Even while he's casing Penelope, Bloom seems drawn to her, but is torn between completing the con and living the life he's always wanted. In that one act, Johnson does a good job of setting up Bloom's internal conflict for the rest of the movie.

Throughout the movie, I thought that the limited knowledge presented to the audience was a good method of reinforcing the fact that the movie is in fact about con men. As the movie went on, I found myself having to guess whether characters were being truthful or not. Some things were easy to call like Stephen's fake gunshot wound at the beach house, but the slight tension throughout the movie had me even doubting Penelope's sincerity. There were moments where she seemed almost a bit too naive about the outside world to be completely real. Such character ambiguity is something I really liked about this film.

On the subject of characters, I realize that I may be in the minority, but I really liked Rinko Kikuchi's portrayal of Bang Bang. As Darrel stated, Kikuchi channeled silent film stars of past with a near-slapstick performance that was subtle enough to not fall into the category of "wacky," but great for providing a bit of providing a bit of comic relief.

The last act of the film is what really took me from thinking it was okay to truly like The Brothers Bloom. In all the chaos that was yet another "last" con, I found myself about as confused as Bloom was. Bang Bang's sudden exit, the botched Russian mob set up, and Stephen's last act in the theater all confused in a provocative way. It may be that the whole film went over my head, but I still don't know if Bang Bang had anything to do with the car bomb, whether the Russians attacking the car was legit, or even if Stephen is alive. I suppose that's the whole point of the film: to con everyone and leave them guessing. But what of Stephen's ideal con where it's so good that everyone gets what they want? Would he go to such lengths to achieve it that he would end his life to pull it off? Yes, Bloom got his wish, but it was at no small cost. There are many questions left to be answered, and I quite like the open ended ending (pardon the redundancy). When speaking with Adam about the lack of concrete answers, he mentioned that perhaps it was done with the intention of having a sequel. As much as I want those questions answered, I don't think a sequel is necessary. Part of the charm of The Brothers Bloom is the fact that in a movie about con men, you're never really all too sure about what everyone's motives are. Having all the loose ends tied up would kind of kill this sense of mystery, but if another movie was made, I'd be happy to watch it based on how well The Brothers Bloom was made.

Good flick all around. I'm glad I watched it and would like to thank Jared for the pick. In my attempt to check out movies beyond my current scope, this certainly was a good first movie.