The Brothers Bloom

In his eagerly anticipated follow-up to his award-winning feature debut, Brick, writer-director Rian Johnson has brought a highly original spin to one of his most loved genres, the con man movie. Working with an all star cast and drawing inspiration from classics ranging from House of Games to Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Johnson initiates us into the world of the Brothers Bloom, where deception is an art, and nothing is what it seems. Through years of fraternal teamwork, the brothers have become high-flying and expert swindlers. Stephen (Mark Ruffalo) brilliantly concocts intricate stories that the brothers live out, but he's still searching for the perfect con, the one in which 'everyone gets what they want'.

Meanwhile Bloom (Adrien Brody) yearns for 'an unwritten life' of his own, one not dreamed up by his brother. Eager to retire, he agrees to take part in one last scam, luring a beautiful, eccentric heiress, Penelope (Rachel Weisz), into an elaborate plot. When a genuine romance begins to blossom between them he is reluctant to exploit her naiveté, but Penelope has already taken the bait. Weaving together elements of high comedy, intense drama and winning romance, as con man stories go, this is an unusually warm hearted one. The dialogue is fast and funny, the leads play off each other to terrific effect (with Rachel Weisz in particular clearly relishing her one-of-a-kind role) and Johnson never misses a step, making this a clever and pleasingly unpredictable treat.
Sandra Hebron

This film is nominated for a FIPRESCI Critics Award