The Brothers Bloom (15.)
Directed by Rian Johnson.
Starring Adrien Brody, Rachel Weisz, Mark Ruffalo, Rinko Kicuchi, Robbie Coltrane, Maximillian Schell. 109 mins.
Well, it’s a novelty at least. This is a con man movie that seems uninterested, or incapable, of pulling the wool over an audience’s eyes.
For his follow up to the splendid début Brick, writer/ director Johnson has struck on the idea of a con artist who really believes his cons are art. Stephen (Ruffalo) writes out his cons like they are Russian novels and then, alongside his brother Bloom (Brody) gets people to live out his stories. (And allow him and his brother to unburden them of some of the weight of wealth that hangs upon them.)
The audience is the mark and I wanted to be taken in by the movie. It has style and invention aplenty and has a joy in words and images that should be infectious but halfway through I caught myself not trying to follow the plot. I wasn't lost, just not interested.
Everything in the movie seems to be actively dissuading you from emotionally investing in it. The Blooms wear black suits and hats all the time like they are an Hassidic equivalent of the Krays, the mark character – a batty heiress played by Weisz is simply preposterous and halfway through something incredible happens that is never explained and never referred back to – in case you were expecting that to be the twist.
(The film has had a long wait for its UK release. It should be noted that this was first shown here two years ago at the 2008 London Film Festivals and wasn’t exact fresh from the edit suite then.)
Ruffalo is OK but Brody’s puppy dog sincerity is really wearing thin. He’s like the Daniel O' Donnell parody in Father Ted, he could just about pass for edgy in High School Musical.
Weisz is the star. Skipping out on Mummy 3 was a Big Yellow Taxi moment for her, we only noticed what she had when it was gone and her absence left an aching gap in that film. She has real screen presence, but not so much that she squeezes everybody else out. She has the toughest role but she takes you in, makes you believe it. The film itself though doesn’t fool you.
Directed by Rian Johnson.
Starring Adrien Brody, Rachel Weisz, Mark Ruffalo, Rinko Kicuchi, Robbie Coltrane, Maximillian Schell. 109 mins.
Well, it’s a novelty at least. This is a con man movie that seems uninterested, or incapable, of pulling the wool over an audience’s eyes.
For his follow up to the splendid début Brick, writer/ director Johnson has struck on the idea of a con artist who really believes his cons are art. Stephen (Ruffalo) writes out his cons like they are Russian novels and then, alongside his brother Bloom (Brody) gets people to live out his stories. (And allow him and his brother to unburden them of some of the weight of wealth that hangs upon them.)
The audience is the mark and I wanted to be taken in by the movie. It has style and invention aplenty and has a joy in words and images that should be infectious but halfway through I caught myself not trying to follow the plot. I wasn't lost, just not interested.
Everything in the movie seems to be actively dissuading you from emotionally investing in it. The Blooms wear black suits and hats all the time like they are an Hassidic equivalent of the Krays, the mark character – a batty heiress played by Weisz is simply preposterous and halfway through something incredible happens that is never explained and never referred back to – in case you were expecting that to be the twist.
(The film has had a long wait for its UK release. It should be noted that this was first shown here two years ago at the 2008 London Film Festivals and wasn’t exact fresh from the edit suite then.)
Ruffalo is OK but Brody’s puppy dog sincerity is really wearing thin. He’s like the Daniel O' Donnell parody in Father Ted, he could just about pass for edgy in High School Musical.
Weisz is the star. Skipping out on Mummy 3 was a Big Yellow Taxi moment for her, we only noticed what she had when it was gone and her absence left an aching gap in that film. She has real screen presence, but not so much that she squeezes everybody else out. She has the toughest role but she takes you in, makes you believe it. The film itself though doesn’t fool you.
