Film Rating: A-

The robbery/con-artist/swindler genre has been worked to death over the past few years, and while said genre has consistently churned out entertaining films, it's become easy to get lost in the shuffle. With so many twist-filled heist romps out there, it has become harder and harder to distinguish between the masses. That's why it's easy to admire a film like The Brothers Bloom, which tries and, for the most part, succeeds in being an original, fresh take on the genre.

In fact, the film sets itself up to seem conventional, only so it can surprise us with unexpected twists on what should be a rather predictable plot. A pair of brothers, named Stephen and Bloom, makes their living as con artists, but Bloom wants out. Stephen devises their grandest con yet as their big finale: romancing a rich, sheltered heiress named Penelope out of a large portion of her fortune.

The set-up feels predictable, so much so that from early on you can tell that writer/director Rian Johnson is just toying with us so that when the surprises come, they will feel that much bigger. You can tell from before the two characters meet that Bloom and Penelope are going to fall in love, and you can predict where that will drive the plot to; the kicker is how the second part of that prediction actually plays out. The Brothers Bloom isn't as twisty or full of surprises as, say, Ocean's Eleven, but it's not meant to be. This is a character piece, and minor plot twists have much bigger impacts on the characters involved. By keeping the twists and the scope smaller, the movie doesn't feel like it's trying to fool you and instead feels much more natural; that alone makes it quite refreshing.

The character side of the story allows Johnson to explore some hitherto untouched aspects of the con artist's life. Bloom is so wrapped up in Stephen's elaborate stories that form the basis of their cons that he has no base personality; in fact, for most of the movie, we're watching actor Adrian Brody act a man who is acting, which is fascinating. Meanwhile, we see how the delusions involved with being a con artist can negatively affect a man like Stephen, whose ego is inflated and whose temper is on the edge. Finally, and perhaps most interestingly, we're shown Penelope, a woman who has no real world experience, and how the elaborate adventure stories involved with a con change her into a better person.

The acting is top-notch across the board. Adrian Brody is always excellent, and that holds true here. His rather flat delivery style is perfect for the character, and he captures Bloom's identity crisis amazingly well. Mark Ruffalo truly surprised me in his role, as his acting is usually incredibly bland. While I think he still could have breathed more life into the character, he certainly does a fine job as Stephen, and he and Brody work quite well together on screen. The brothers' weapons expert, Bang Bang, is mostly a comic relief character and Rinko Kikuchi (famous for her award-winning role in Babel) is pitch-perfect in the role. The scene-stealer of the movie, however, is Rachel Weisz as Penelope. It's a very off-beat performance, and Weisz manages to do this while showing a clear progression of the character from beginning to end.

Nathan Johnson's excellent musical score is truly another character. It's as lively and energetic as the movie itself, while also hitting the dramatic notes to perfection. If I could single out any one element of The Brothers Bloom that pushed me over the edge from "like it" to "love it," it would be this excellent musical score.

Still, The Brothers Bloom isn't a perfect movie. The second and third acts don't at all flow into each other, and there's a good ten minutes there where the movie seems to be running its wheels in the dirt. It eventually gets going again and delivers a fantastic finale, but this section of the film should have been smoothed out. Furthermore, while the movie makes a valiant effort to be unconventional and unpredictable, there are just a few problems that make parts of the ending a bit too predictable for my liking. I won't spoil anything, but let's just say there's foreshadowing, and then there's shouting out Snape Kills Dumbledore! early on. The Brothers Bloom goes down the latter route, giving you a good idea of how the movie is going to end based on a conspicuous conversation in the first act.

Despite these flaws, the movie is a fun, enjoyable, and sometimes even thought provoking romp that doesn't fail to satisfy. It doesn't revitalize the genre like Tony Gilroy's Duplicity did, but it is an entertaining and creative piece of cinema. Currently, the movie is playing at the Landmark Chez Artiste (we're one of only fifteen cities in the country to be hosting the film right now) but the movie will open wide this Friday. Make sure to check it out.