Filem:
The Brothers Bloom
Cast:
Adrien Brody, Rachel Weisz, Mark Ruffalo and Rinko Kikuchi
Genre:
Dramedy
Review:
Offbeat, oft-kilter and off its own mind most of the time. That’s how someone would describe director Rian Johnson’s latest movie, ‘The Brothers Bloom’. It’s kind of cult, opening in the US to only four theaters two weeks before screening nationwide and now it’s showing here. ‘Bloom’ takes the con man movie and justifies the profession with a fairy tale-like charm and innocence.
The colours are dandy to get lost in and the scenery is mostly whimsical, so a long-forgotten cliché may be that it’s the acting that makes the film what it is.
Adrien Brody is the shady, cool guy Bloom while Mark Ruffalo plays his birth brother and foil, Stephen, a goofy but able con man who does the job. Crossing and double-crossing, ruses and feigned deaths are all in a day’s work for these two until they meet the true-blue Penelope, who will come between them in a way like never before.
Rachel Weisz as a “hobby collector” or, as Bloom puts it, “a weird, alluring, rich b*tch shut in” who dabbles in banjo, violin, guitar, piano, juggling, break dancing, skateboarding and card tricks among many other time-filling miscellany. The little girl inside really shines through in Weisz’s Penelope, and so gives this outing one of its sights for sore eyes.
Speaking of which, breakthrough Asian actress Rinko Kikuchi in her second big mute role after ‘Babel’, sticks out like a sore thumb here as Bang Bang, the mysterious Oriental who assists the duo’s coups and heists, and whom Bloom says “just appeared one day, and will disappear someday.”
Through it all this flick has the feel of a 60s Dick Lester film (think an old Beatles picture) with weird one-liners, stupefying “wtf” reactions, tons of unconventional slapstick stuff happening in the background that’s seemingly unrelated to what goes on. ‘The Brothers Bloom’ should be a bizarre treat to anyone looking for something fresh, lively and off the beaten track.
0 Comments