Emma the Con Artiste?

The movie The Brothers Bloom is underrated by many, some find it a snooze-fest, others lack the mental patience to follow the characters without doubt. It is, however, my movie of the week. It's been playing in the background of my mind for a week now. 

Simply, it is the story of two brothers, Bloom (Adrian Brody) and Stephen (Mark Ruffalo), who have been con men ever since their broken childhood of dead-end towns and foster homes. Bloom decides he finally wants out of the life, but Stephen talks him into one last con. 

With their pyromaniac partner, Bang Bang (Rinko Kikuchi), Stephen introduces us to the Mark of their last con: Penelope. An eccentric heiress, Penelope (Rachel Weisz) is a shut-in, and has lived alone in her family's large New Jersey mansion her whole life. 

The con is simple, Bloom sweeps Penelope off her feet and convinces her to go to Prague with Stephen, Bang Bang, and himself. There, they hatch a scheme to trick Penelope into helping their 'activities', all whilst swindling her out of a tidy 2.5 million dollars.

Everything is real to Penelope for the first time, but what will Bloom do when he stops pretending?

There are so many things to look at in the movie, I don't see how anyone could get bored with it. Every time I watch I notice something new, or something that has always been there makes me have a new though. The roles are played impeccably. Its so easy to trust Stephen that you have not doubts as to why Bloom has gone along with him for so long. Penelope is awkwardly beautiful. You'll believe her in every misstep she takes. Bloom is all about internal struggle, by half way through the movie you'll be wondering if he really believes in the con anymore. Bang Bang is probably the hardest character to comprehend. She is chronically silent except for a karaoke interlude and a cryptic statement to Bloom when he needs it most. All in all, this movie is a must see, a full sensory experience that will have you sporting bowler hats and capes whilst doodling your name with "the con artiste" attached in various script.