The Brothers Bloom is the second feature film from writer/director Rian Johnson. His first, the high school film noir cult classic, Brick, revealed a promising filmmaker with a fluent style and a knack for writing interesting and unique characters. Brick was a critical success and found an audience on DVD. Because of this, Johnson’s follow-up was bound to be scrutinized as many would be left to wonder whether Johnson was part of the next wave of great filmmakers or just another one-hit wonder. In the end, Johnson’s second effort received limited release and didn’t do well at the box office, which is a shame, because The Brothers Bloom is a beautifully shot film that uses the wide screen to its advantage in all of its scope and color. Brothers is now available on DVD, and it builds on the promise of Brick, succeeding in all of the ways necessary to guarantee that Johnson will continue making movies for years to come.

Mark Ruffalo (You Can Count on Me) and Adrian Brody (The Pianist) star as Stephen and Bloom, two brothers who have always shared everything. Tossed around from foster home to foster home as boys, they learned that they could only depend on each other. They also learned that they could make a lot of money by conning people. The opening prologue of The Brothers Bloom is an innocent, funny and expertly executed introduction to the boys, finding their calling as con artists and scamming their peers. From the start, Stephen is the planner and Bloom the one who sets the con in motion. We also see that at this early age Bloom longs for a connection with someone other than the brother he loves and admires; he wants to be loved. As Rod Stewart’s version of “I Know I’m Losing You” accompanies the boys’ slow-mo walk out of their latest town, the film titles appear and the story jumps ahead 20 years, when Stephen and Bloom are world renowned for being able to pull off the most elaborate and well-staged cons. (more…)