I finally watched THE BROTHERS BLOOM the other night. Man, Rian Johnson is brilliant. Freakin’ stupendously talented. Great track record: two films written and directed, two works of art that are accesible and yet cutting edge. BRICK was a genre unto itself and made me admire Joseph Gordon-Levitt even more than I already did. I can watch BRICK over and over and discover freshly planted seeds of [hmmmm] each time.

BROTHERS BLOOM was equally good in a tangentially different way. Great dialogue again. Convoluted story yes, genre pic yes...but I crave con pics and con pics demand convolution. They are movies that draw pleasure from the ride that the director and actors embark upon. And this was a convoluted delight of a ride. The brothers are symbiotic in nature and live for the cons that Stephen plots out for them in excruciating detail. Excruciating for the younger brother Bloom that is, who wants to live an unscripted life of honesty. As is standard for con movies, a “final” con is devised and played out. Bloom embarks upon a romance and tries to make it real, which goes against the con’s storyline that his brother is directing. Quirky but honest characters abound.

Here’s the rub. The good rub. Most caper/con flix do not contain characters that anyone cares about deeply, or much at all. I mean, you root for them to “win”, but that’s as deep as you get. And don’t get me wrong, I love these sort of movies. The OCEAN movies, THE USUAL SUSPECTS, THE STING, THE GRIFTERS: all classics, yet all with only fleeting touches of “soul.” THE BROTHERS BLOOM takes it further. Each of the top three characters are human beings we care for by the time the film ends. We want them to be happy and live freely and without care or worry about the past’s shadows. We want Bloom to live genuinely, Stephen to tell the ultimate story and ensure his brother’s happiness, and Penelope to keep maturing as a modern post-heiress, jack-of-all-trades. Watch the extras on the BluRay disc, especially the Deleted Scenes. Some of the cut scenes contain magnificent, poignant acting, but they would have slowed the story down. Still, they further flesh out the characters and ensure that you will marvel at the directing talent of Mr. Johnson.

By the way, the production design and editing in BROTHERS BLOOM are both exemplary. The design ensures that the story lives in a world that is today and yet at the same time rings of the ’20s, ’30s, and ’50s simultaneously. At one point the cast travels from the US to Europe on a ship that looks like one of the shallow keeled steamboats that traveled up and down the Nile in the ’30s. For one, preposterous that we allow ourselves to believe that this boat is even capable of crossing the Atlantic, and then that such a ship would even exist today. We are entranced even further by the color design, as everything/everyone lives in shades of elegant, intense grays on this ocean crossing: beautiful! Editing is tight, as is essential in a con/caper film. Just a second longer here or there and we might be confused or too much might be revealed. Instead, the pacing is flawless and vivid. Hats off to Jim Clay and Gabriel Wrye!

Do yourself a favor and rent or buy both BRICK and THE BROTHERS BLOOM. Then have a Stella and enjoy.