An Unwritten Life: The Brothers Bloom
Posted by Allison on June 25, 2009
Directed by Rian Johnson
Starring: Adrien Brody, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel Weisz, Rinko Kikuchi
Simultaneously a movie I love, but I’m afraid to see again.
Premise: Stephen and Bloom (his first name) have been grifters since they were children, but Bloom (Adrien Brody) wants out, in order to drink by himself in Montengro. But his brother convinces him to do one last con.
I’m paraphrasing this, but it’s an important quote: “My brother writes cons like a Russian writes novels… and I’m the vulnerable anti-hero,” Bloom says at one of their usual haunts in Berlin. Stephen creates plans for their jobs that are so complex, they couldn’t work in real life. The relationship between the brothers seems almost crafted by Stephen as well, since he knows Bloom well enough to predict his every move and every motivation.
Their last job: Swindle the inheritance of an eccentric heiress, Penelope(Weisz), by letting her have an adventure. This becomes a wonderful trip to Prague, all scenes and score reminiscent of old French films we sometimes dream about, but find they never really existed in the morning.
All of the dialogue seems as stolen as the rare prayer book they’re after in Prague, but delivered with a light humor that’s juxtaposed with the near-mute Bang Bang (Kikuchi), the Brothers’ assistant and explosive expert.
As my first summer film (it only just made it to my local theater), it matched the great film cliche: It had everything in it that is looked for in a film. There was action, romance, humor, a heist, travel… Bloom falls for Penelope, seeming to almost sabotage himself in the process.
There’s a lot to love from this film: Thematically black and white costumes, watching Bloom steal a brilliant red apple then run dizzingly down a hill, blowing up a castle in Prague, Bang Bang singing karaoke in Tokyo, card tricks, the brother’s mentor Diamond Dog who Stephen took his right eye out with an antique sword in St. Petersburg, and the achingly adorable relationship between Bloom and Penelope.
And from all of the brother’s lies, the ones that seem the most unbelievable are really the truth.
What I’m afraid of when it comes to this film is whether I would like it the second time around. A lot of the joy comes from the surprises that wait, hiding in the plot, the twists and turns, and the great final scene. After seeing it once, how could I possibly recreate that feeling again? Short of mild amnesia, that is.
