The Brothers Bloom

Two years ago I saw an excellent film called 'Brick'. It made me an instant fan of the film's writer/director Rian Johnson. This is his follow up film.

I'm a big fan of writers who use clever techniques to tell their story. That is why I loved 'Brick' so much. I have a lot of trouble writing dialogue in my films that I'm always envious of writers who can do it so well. I am glad that he did not use that cleverness here. The dialogue is clever and witty but not done in a different tone like in 'Brick'. The film is more accessible to a wider audience than his previous film. But judging by the films release it may not get to a wider audience until DVD and Blu-Ray. That is not to say the film is not good because it is brilliant. The film is really funny and there are some hilariously funny sight gags in the film. Rian certainly knows comedy and can direct it extremely well. When ever i watch a film involving con artists I love to try and guess the twists before they are revealed. How I judge a film is based largely on how they can keep them a secret. If the story is involving enough that I forget to try and guess the twist then it succeeds for me. This film while not having many big twists still manages to keep them a secret from me. The love story is also one of the films great assets.

Adrien Brody is an excellent actor but he has mostly done dramas until now. If this is anything to go by he has a great future in comedy. He does a great job with the sight gags and has good deadpan delivery. Mark Ruffalo of course is great as always. Then there is the brilliant Rinko Kikuchi. I'm not sure is she has virtually no dialogue because she does not speak English very well but she makes a wonderful silent comedian. However the real joy of this film is the stunning performance by Rachel Weisz. I knew she was an excellent actress but this is by far the best thing she has ever done. So incredibly cute and wonderful as the brothers target. No wonder Bloom falls in love with her. I'm hoping all the Oscar talk for her performance comes true.

If you like your con artist movies clever and with a great love story then this is the film for you. You must see it, though for the brilliant performance of Rachel Weisz.