The Brothers Bloom

Release Year: 2009

Director: Rian Johnson

Review: A con film with enough quirk and finesse to allow you to forget trying to figure out the con and just enjoy the remarkable ride.  It may have all the standard trappings of a run of the mill con film, but this is so much more.  There is a life to the film, which has you more interested in the characters then the twists.  Anticipating the next double cross keeps you engaged, but its the heart that makes it great.  The cohesive, seamless and eloquent story telling employed by Rian Johnson makes this fun to watch.  I couldn't help but smile as the pieces fell into place.  I wasn't concerned with the end result of the cons, but rather captivated by the process of watching them unwind.  The characters are so well thought out and interesting that its easy to emotionally involve yourself with their plights.  It would have been easy for the film to get frustrating out of control, but because of the strong characters, fine acting and pitch perfect directing, it never seemed to be too much.   As the movie professes, the perfect con is everybody getting what they want, and so it is in this film.  There is a little something to make everyone happy.
Rating: 4.5/5