The Brothers Bloom (2008)
Average Rating: 6.2/10
Reviews Counted: 148
Fresh: 97 | Rotten: 51
Despite strong performances The Brothers Bloom ultimately does not fulfill its lofty ambitions.
Average Rating: 5.6/10
Critic Reviews: 36
Fresh: 17 | Rotten: 19
Despite strong performances The Brothers Bloom ultimately does not fulfill its lofty ambitions.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.3/5
User Ratings: 90,125
Movie Info
When the younger of two notorious sibling con artists announces a plan to go legit, his brother implores him to carry out one last swindle in the eagerly anticipated sophomore feature from Brick writer/director Rian Johnson. Tired of a life on the run, a confidence man who has dedicated his life to the art of the grift decides to call it quits. Despite his plans to leave his criminal past behind, however, the reluctant scammer finds that his brother has masterminded one last scheme to claim the
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Cast
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Rachel Weisz
Penelope -
Adrien Brody
Bloom -
Mark Ruffalo
Stephen -
Rinko Kikuchi
Bang Bang -
Maximilian Schell
Diamond Dog -
Robbie Coltrane
Melville -
Ricky Jay
Narrator
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The Brothers Bloom Trailer & Photos
All Critics (149) | Top Critics (36) | Fresh (97) | Rotten (51) | DVD (7)
Watching this movie is like being elbowed in the ribs for two consecutive hours.
Top CriticThe Brothers Bloom feels different from any crime caper you've ever seen, even though its machinations still revolve around con artists who play tricks on each other -- and the audience.
Although it's got a strong cast and visual panache, Johnson willfully dispenses with the caper complications that might have made it more fun.
It's all a con, but thanks to Johnson's way with characters and dialogue, we don't mind the hustle so long as we're rewarded along the way.
Even if you don't quite comprehend the ending (there seem to be 12 of them), you'll still feel the wallop of its consequences.
It's not blockbuster material, but this clever picture is a romantic -- and genuinely amusing -- charmer.
It pulls the perfect con, which Ruffalo's character defines as a con where everyone gets what they want. The audience gets exactly what they want: A wild ride with an ending they won't see coming.
The Brothers Bloom is quirky and clever. Set in the present but with a perfectly judged retro feel, it looks fabulous too. Japanese actress Rinko Kikuchi almost steals the film with her deadpan presence as Bang Bang, the gang's explosives expert.
Brick made for a natural intro to the more complicated, less laboriously arch observations of The Brothers Bloom.
Rian Johnson injects punchy, off-kilter fantastical charm into his playfully globetrotting film. It's like a cuckoo clock - precise, ornate and screwy-looking. But Bloom and Penelope's love - and resultant rifts - comes off as real-world collateral.
Sure, The Brothers Bloom may be the headline act, but it is the sisters eccentric that make the film.
The Brothers Bloom is inventive, but its relentless cleverness limits its emotional pull.
We feel regularly discombobulated on the sea of this movie's ideas - which is a good thing for people feeling marooned by the general stupidity of this summer's film releases.
If Wes Anderson and Terry Gilliam ever had a child, science would be amazed and appalled. But also, it would probably end up making a film like this.
The eccentric humour is an acquired taste and the contrived story overstays its welcome.
Johnson's script and directing style suffocates the duo with too many cookie-cutter indie movie quirks, making it all too easy to spot the joins and lose interest...
It's one of those films whose fun set-up is terrific, only to be offset by the muddled plot. Still, there are some decent laughs amid the mess.
Sharp, funny and stylish, but still, something doesn't quite fit...
The effect is something like Dirty Rotten Scoundrels done by Wes Anderson in a morose mood, much as its creator would presumably resist the latter comparison.
Like his brooding anti-hero, Johnson keeps one step ahead and, at the same time, wears his heart on his sleeve. It's tough not to fall for such charm.
Oh dear.
It lags a touch towards the end and it's ultra quirky, but the artifice doesn't rob the finale of emotion. In fact, it delivers unexpected rewards.
Blooming good fun.
Perhaps you can be too cool for school and too clever for a multiplex, but if you're willing to go along with this, you'll enjoy being fooled so much that you won't mind it's all a trick.
It's a charming fantasy of a con movie that is less interested in the well played con than the colorfully executed idea of a con, among other things.
Now I know what it's like for those buzz killers who complain about Wes Anderson films.
Audience Reviews for The Brothers Bloom
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
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- Stephen: Real sunsets might be beautiful, but they turn into dark uncertain nights.
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- Penelope: Trick to not feeling cheated is to learn how to cheat.
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- Penelope: Photograph is a secret about a secret. More it tells you, less you know.
Discussion Forum
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Foreign Titles
- Brothers Bloom (DE)
