A film can be fun and crowd pleasing without having to sacrifice depth and technical prowess and the Brothers Bloom proves it. After the amazing and innovative film that Brick was Rian Johnson had his work cut out for him for his second film. While the Brothers Bloom isn't as perfect as Brick was, it is quite close. Just like Brick took the noir genre and breathed life into it in new and interesting ways the Brothers Bloom does the same thing with the con film genre. There are steam boats and trains, characters always dressed up in fine clothing, globe trotting adventures to exotic locales and a web of events unfolding. One of the most impressive things about the film is just how different the aesthetic is from Brick. There is a bright and colorful palette and a light and breezy feeling. If you watched Brick and Brothers Bloom one after another and you didn't know who directed them you wouldn't have a clue they were from the same guy. The only thing linking the two would be Nora Zehetner as well as the finely crafted visuals. Rian Johnson incorporates terrific lighting and lightening effects in addition to the use of settings, time lapse shots, explosions and slow motion. Each scene has a huge amount of detail and care involved and each frame matters. The visuals have a heavy Wes Anderson influence with many scenes having a hand written chart for the part of the con they are on in addition to his love of British invasion music and tracking shots that zooms in tightly and then back out.
Nathan Johnson did a wonderful job of composing the music which is varied and sets the mood for each scene. Humor is sprinkled throughout the film with sight gags or funny dialog but all of the laughs the film gets it earns while at the same time balancing the drama between the characters and the story. The cast have wonderful chemistry together and each play their roles perfectly. Not one character over powers the others and each take turns stealing the scene. Dialog in the film is interesting and flows very well. There are some points in the film where the dialog gets to some deep emotional truths while other times it is more comical and light heated. The story itself is very well done and is quite unique. There are twists are turns throughout the film as the con evolves and we are left trying to figure out what is a con and what isn't and where exactly it is going. At the end however this serves as the one negative aspect of the film as it rushes to stay one step ahead of the audience it sputters a bit at the end but still manages to leaves on a high emotional note. This film works on many different levels and one thing that stuck me as being particularity interesting was how this film shows that film in general is a con and the director is the con man. Films shows us people acting a part written for them and the director tries to reflect this story in reality as closely as possible, but there is nothing real. The audience is the mark. The idea is to get our money. The most successful con is one where everyone gets what they want and the same is true with films. The audience is thrilled with being caught up in the reality of the film so they feel they have experienced or felt something and the film maker gets their money and a thrill from showing their art. By that measure the Brothers Bloom is a successful con. Rian Johnson has proved he is not a one hit wonder and that he is true auteur.
Nathan Johnson did a wonderful job of composing the music which is varied and sets the mood for each scene. Humor is sprinkled throughout the film with sight gags or funny dialog but all of the laughs the film gets it earns while at the same time balancing the drama between the characters and the story. The cast have wonderful chemistry together and each play their roles perfectly. Not one character over powers the others and each take turns stealing the scene. Dialog in the film is interesting and flows very well. There are some points in the film where the dialog gets to some deep emotional truths while other times it is more comical and light heated. The story itself is very well done and is quite unique. There are twists are turns throughout the film as the con evolves and we are left trying to figure out what is a con and what isn't and where exactly it is going. At the end however this serves as the one negative aspect of the film as it rushes to stay one step ahead of the audience it sputters a bit at the end but still manages to leaves on a high emotional note. This film works on many different levels and one thing that stuck me as being particularity interesting was how this film shows that film in general is a con and the director is the con man. Films shows us people acting a part written for them and the director tries to reflect this story in reality as closely as possible, but there is nothing real. The audience is the mark. The idea is to get our money. The most successful con is one where everyone gets what they want and the same is true with films. The audience is thrilled with being caught up in the reality of the film so they feel they have experienced or felt something and the film maker gets their money and a thrill from showing their art. By that measure the Brothers Bloom is a successful con. Rian Johnson has proved he is not a one hit wonder and that he is true auteur.