The Brothers Bloom (Adrien Brody, Rachel Weisz, Mark Ruffalo) — Steven and Bloom have been con artists since they were kids. Steven is the mastermind; Bloom the charmer. They are good at what they do, always looking for the big score and usually getting away scot-free. Enter their latest “mark.” She’s an eccentric, trust-fund heiress brilliantly played by Oscar winner Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener). As in most of her films, you can’t take your eyes off her. That’s true whether she is playing very, very serious or in as light a romp as this. One of the word’s most under-rated and versatile actresses, she makes this seemingly very European-feeling movie work.
Here, she plays opposite two very different American actors, Oscar winner Adrien Brody (The Pianist) and the steady, if unspectacular, Mark Ruffalo. Both of these actors are also versatile, Brody as the investigator in Hollywoodland and in the quirky The Darjeeling Limited and Ruffalo in comedies with Reese Witherspoon and serious dramas like Robert Redford’s The Last Castle.
The story in The Brothers Bloom is only mildly relevant. The brothers engage their mark in their fake caper in order to get her to part with seven figures worth of her wealth. In the meantime, they wreak havoc where they didn’t much intend to, eventually ticking off the wrong bad people. And as the con winds down to its conclusion, you don’t know if it’s gone bad or not. It takes till well into the last reel to figure out if this is The Sting or Very Bad Things. That’s what keeps the viewer interested and engaged. I really liked this film but test audiences must not have. This film was hyped late last year yet wasn’t released until mid-year and, then, only in limited circulation. So see it if you can, which probably means on video.