Broken Cliches. Original Plot. The Brothers Bloom Movie Review

The Brothers Bloom can be summed up in two words. Not cliché. The Brothers Bloom is a con artist movie. This usually means lots of cool lines, cool clothes, action, and fun. Then eventually something goes wrong, someone falls in love, and gun fire, a few car chases, a lot of big decisions, and often a gigantic gut wrenching plot twist happens that afterwards you realize made sense all along. Even though the whole plot is centered on one main con like most con artist movies, none of the other Hollywood con movie trademarks are there.

The Brothers Bloom seems to toy with your preconceived notions about what a con movie is. Rather than having one big plot twist near the end of the movie that is meant to blow your mind, the entire plot of the movie is made up of subtle plot twists. There isn't one big scene which changes the premises and character motives of the entire plot, rather The Brothers Bloom's plot pushes steadily on, getting more and more complex as the film progresses.

Although the plot is far from cliché, the movie still had a few traditional "artsy film" components. The woman and man who fall in love are not portrayed as overly attractive. As well, there is a foreign Asian assistant present for the most part for comic relief. The audience is never sure how much English she understands because she remains silent the entire movie. The hero of the movie has one fatal flaw which he finally overcomes at the climax of the movie. Also, there were many offhandedly said comments which eventually came up later in the movie's plot as important and more true than expected. These did make a few of the elements of The Brothers Bloom unsurprising and expected, however I don't think they overpowered the plot or the comedy of the movie.

Overall I would give the movie four out of five stars. The Brothers Bloom had an interesting story, compelling characters, and an extremely original and refreshing plot progression, while still being a con artist movie, a theme nobody will ever get tired of.

Setting and small summary:

The Brothers Bloom is a story of two orphaned brothers who grow up getting kicked out of foster home to foster home. They eventually become con artists in elementary school. The majority of the movie is about what they claim to be as their last con when they are in their thirties. One of the brothers has always wanted out of the con artist game but is never able to get away from his older brother. The older brother finally convinces him to do "one last job" and then retire in Mexico with loads of cash. The younger brother falls in love with the con victim but things get much much more complicated in surprising ways as the con continues.