The Brothers Bloom (2008)

Director:

Rian Johnson

Writer (WGA):

Rian Johnson (written by)

Release Date:

22 May 2009 (Sweden)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Drama | Romance

Tagline:

They'd never let the truth come between them

Plot:

The Brothers Bloom are the best con men in the world, swindling millionaires with complex scenarios of lust and intrigue. Now they've decided to take on one last job - showing a beautiful and eccentric heiress the time of her life with a romantic adventure that takes them around the world.

Plot Keywords:

Con | Eccentric | Book | New Jersey | Plan

Awards:

2 nominations

Cast

Rachel Weisz	...	Penelope Stamp
Adrien Brody	...	Bloom
Mark Ruffalo	...	Stephen
Rinko Kikuchi	...	Bang Bang
Robbie Coltrane	...	The Curator
Maximilian Schell	...	Diamond Dog
Ricky Jay	...	Narrator (voice)
Zachary Gordon	...	Young Bloom
Max Records	...	Young Stephen
Andy Nyman	...	Charleston
Noah Segan	...	The Duke
Nora Zehetner	...	Rose
Ram Bergman	...	Himself
Craig Johnson	...	Apple Cart Vendor
Dubravko Jovanovic	...	Albino
Esme Tyler	...	Young Girl
Jovan Vitas	...	Young Boy
Ana Sofrenovic	...	Charleston's Wife
Vladimir Kulhavy	...	Chief of Police
Alek Rodic	...	Snack Car Attendant
Josif Tatic	...	Oafish Foster Father
Slobodan Custic	...	Foster Dad
Branka Pujic	...	Foster Mom
George Bocchetti	...	Excited Boy #1
Elis Derham	...	Excited Boy #2
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Stefan Kapicic	...	German bar owner
Ana Sakic
Miranda Vidak	...	Woman in Red Catsuit
Joseph Gordon-Levitt	...	Bar Patron (uncredited)
Lukas Haas	...	Bar Patron (uncredited)

Directed by
Rian Johnson

Writing credits (WGA)
Rian Johnson		(written by)

Produced by
Ram Bergman	....	producer
Matthew J. Birch	....	co-producer
Bruce Wayne Gillies	....	line producer: additional photography
Douglas Hansen	....	executive producer
Wendy Japhet	....	executive producer
Tom Karnowski	....	co-producer
James D. Stern	....	producer

Original Music by
Nathan Johnson

Cinematography by
Steve Yedlin

Film Editing by
Gabriel Wrye

Casting by
Shannon Makhanian

Production Design by
Jim Clay

Art Direction by
Jasna Dragovic
Paul Kirby		(supervising art director)

Set Decoration by
Sophie Newman

Costume Design by
Beatrix Aruna Pasztor

Makeup Department
Neill Gorton	....	special makeup effects artist
Graham Johnston	....	makeup artist: Rachael Weisz
Simona Merlusca	....	makeup artist: Romania
Mihaela Radu	....	hair stylist: Romania
Charlotte Scovill	....	special makeup effects artist: United States
Cristina Urma	....	assistant hair stylist: Romania
Dusica Vuksanovic	....	assistant makeup artist

Production Management
Marko Crnogorac	....	assistant unit manager
Vaclav Eisenhamer	....	unit production manager
Philip Harrelson	....	post-production supervisor
Ales Komárek	....	production supervisor: CZ
Uri Mossinsohn	....	unit production manager: Romania
Richard Sharkey	....	unit production manager
Andjelija Vlaisavljevic	....	production manager: Serbia
Elena Zokas	....	unit production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Sean Guest	....	first assistant director
Iulia Macavei	....	third assistant director: Romania
Biljana Mirkovic	....	first assistant director: second unit
Alexander Witt	....	second unit director

Art Department
Daniele Auber	....	storyboard artist
Dora Boariu	....	head of greenery: Romania
Branka Cetina	....	set decoration department coordinator
Veronica Falzon	....	assistant to production designer
Dragan Kaplarevic	....	buyer
Naeim Khavari	....	storyboard artist
Uros Lalicki	....	assistant art director: graphics
Mladen Lisavac	....	assistant art director
Vlasto Maric	....	painter
Radoslav Mihajlovic	....	construction manager
Scott Nifong	....	property master
Zoran Petrovic	....	prop buyer
Milica Popovic	....	art department runner
Justin Quinnell	....	pinhole photography
Ivana Stefanovic	....	construction coordinator
Ivana Stefanovic	....	storyboard artist
Branislav Bane Stevanovic	....	assistant art director
Dan Toma	....	property master: Romania

Sound Department
Joshua Adeniji	....	foley editor
Howard Carle	....	adr mixer
Robert Dehn	....	assistant sound editor
Robert Dehn	....	sound studio manager
Jason Dotts	....	additional sound re-recording mixer
Jason Dotts	....	sound effects editor
Levent Erdogan	....	assistant sound editor
Cameron O. Galloway	....	additional adr editor
Judah Getz	....	adr mixer
Judah Getz	....	foley mixer
Jerry Gilbert	....	sound re-recording mixer
Corey J. Grasso	....	assistant sound editor
Jonathan Harnsongkram	....	assistant sound editor
Angela Hemingway	....	additional adr editor
Kahl Henderson	....	adr recordist
Novica Jankov	....	boom operator
Jesse Kees	....	assistant sound editor
Cody King	....	sound effects editor
Richard Kitting	....	additional sound re-recording mixer
Tiffany Lentz	....	assistant sound editor
Jonathan Miller	....	sound re-recording mixer
Jonathan Miller	....	supervising sound editor
Andrew Morgado	....	adr mixer
Stuart Provine	....	sound effects editor
Jared Seidman	....	adr recordist
Dean Treloar	....	sound editor
Jonathan Wales	....	sound re-recording mixer
Pawel Wdowczak	....	sound
Lyudmyla A. Wolfe	....	boom operator: second unit
Aleksandar Zivanovic	....	boom operator

Special Effects by
Kevin Draycott	....	special effects foreman
Iulian Florian	....	special effects assistant: Romania
Muhamed M'Barek	....	special effects technician
Mark Meddings	....	special effects supervisor
Mihai Reti	....	special effects assistant
Mihai Reti	....	special effects coordinator: Romania
Grant Rogan	....	special effects technician

Visual Effects by
Hunter Athey	....	animator
Johnathan R. Banta	....	matte painter
Johnathan R. Banta	....	modeling technical director
Enid Dalkoff	....	digital compositor
Kent Estep	....	digital effects supervisor
Nancy Hyland	....	compositor
Pency Kinnard	....	compositor
Veronika Lerchová	....	digital dailies: UPP
Shira Mandel	....	compositor
Nicole Montemayor	....	visual effects coordinator
Kevin Moseley	....	visual effects producer
Andrew Mumford	....	compositor
Ira Shain	....	compositor
Ron Simonson	....	visual effects supervisor
Sarma Vanguri	....	visual effects artist
Pouya Zadrafiei	....	modeler / texture artist

Stunts
Gabi Burlacu	....	stunts
Ciprian Dumitrascu	....	stunt coordinator: Romania
Marius Florian	....	stunts: Romania
Mihai Iliescu	....	stunts
Claudiu Marian Sebastian	....	stunts: Romania
Nicolae Stoica	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Ondrej Bylok	....	light desk operator
Ondrej Bylok	....	lighting technician
Dragan Djordjevic	....	assistant camera
Sasa Djordjevic	....	key grip: second unit
Amy Ecklund	....	additional second assistant camera
Chris Heinrich	....	additional first assistant camera
Marko Stamatovic Kempi	....	electrician
Ivan Kostic	....	second assistant camera
Greg Lomas	....	dolly grip: "a" camera
Vladimir Markovic	....	second assistant camera
Svetomir Pajic	....	Steadicam operator
Slobodan Pikula	....	still photographer
Jaron Presant	....	director of photography: second unit
David Smith	....	gaffer
Branko Sujic	....	camera loader
Nenad Vasic	....	key grip
Wade Whitley	....	first assistant camera

Casting Department
Florin Kevorkian	....	casting: Romania
Dasa Loncarevic	....	casting assistant: Serbia
Angelina Marinkovic	....	casting director: Serbia and Montenegro

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Alexis Scott	....	assistant costume designer

Editorial Department
Chad Cole	....	on-line editor
Skip Kimball	....	digital intermediate colorist
Bryan Park	....	digital intermediate film editorial
Enrique Rodriguez	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Drew DeAscentis	....	music editor
Max Heath	....	musician
Nathan Johnson	....	music producer
China Kent	....	musician
Seth Kent	....	assistant engineer
Nick Lloyd	....	score engineer
Chris Mears	....	musician
Roger Neill	....	orchestrator
Hristina Popovic	....	assistant choreographer: comedy song
Brian Reitzell	....	music supervisor
Julie Sessing	....	music clearance
Sonja Vukicevic	....	choreographer: musical number
Frank Wolf	....	score mixer

Transportation Department
Alex Balanica	....	driver
Gabi Balanica	....	driver: Adrien Brody, Romania
Bobby Barbacioru	....	transport coordinator: Romania
Horatiu Breza	....	driver
Ilija Dzikic	....	production driver
Jiri Fleischer	....	picture vehicles coordinator
Nenad Kokot	....	transportation coordinator: Serbia and Montenegro
Ionut Lupu	....	transportation captain: Romania
Nikola Simic	....	picture car coordinator

Other crew
Alin Bonciog	....	caterer: Romania
Milica Bregovic	....	production runner
Alisa Buckley	....	unit publicist
Eugen Constantinescu	....	assistant location manager: Romania
Simina Cosma	....	production coordinator: Romania
Doru Cosmulescu	....	production assistant: Romania
Zoja Djordjevic	....	double: Rachel Weisz
Sandra Djurickovic	....	production coordinator
Milena Dzambasovic	....	production secretary
Kevin Ford	....	epk director
James Freedman	....	magic advisor
Iulian Garban	....	paramedic: Romania
Maja Gardinovacki	....	unit manager: Serbia and Montenegro
Susan Hegarty	....	dialect coach: Rachel Weisz
Andrei Iacob	....	production assistant: Romania
Ljiljana Kovacevic	....	production accountant
Marija Markovic	....	assistant accountant
Vera Matousova	....	production coordinator: Prague
Maggie Means	....	production accountant
Eleanor Mendes	....	production coordinator
Radoslav Mihajlovic	....	costruction manager
Vuk Mrenovic	....	assistant location manager: Serbia and Montenegro
Tino Paduraru	....	assistant location manager: Romania
Neda Pavlovic	....	interpreter
Nada Pinter	....	script supervisor
Benjamin R. Reder	....	production legal counsel
Alexandru Roman	....	legal services: Romania
Margareta Samoran	....	production assistant
Michael Schaefer	....	production executive
Jonathan Smart	....	clearance administrator
Jessica Solce	....	assistant: Rachel Weisz
Marius Stanciu	....	location manager: Romania
Leo Sumlea	....	dog handler: Romania
Aleksandar Tadic	....	location manager: Serbia/Montenegro
Anne Teixeira	....	production executive
Mila Turajlic	....	assistant: Rian Johnson
Daniela Urosevic-Olear	....	assistant production coordinator
Cindy Wilkinson Kirven	....	finance executive

Thanks
Tom Cruise	....	thanks
Daniel Lewis	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Endgame Entertainment
• Ram Bergman Productions
• Weinstein Company, The

Distributors

• A-Film Distribution (2009) (Benelux) (theatrical)
• Alfa Films (2009) (Argentina) (theatrical)
• Golden Village Pictures (2009) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Noble Entertainment (2009) (Sweden) (theatrical) (16 mm)
• Senator Film (2009) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Summit Entertainment (2008) (USA) (theatrical)
• Deltamac Entertainment (2009) (Hong Kong) (all media)
• Future Film (2009) (Finland) (all media)
• IPA Asia Pacific (2009) (Thailand) (all media)
• Media Pro Film Distribution (2009) (Romania) (all media)
• Midget Entertainment (2009) (Denmark) (all media)
• Noble Entertainment (2009) (Sweden) (DVD)
• Noble Entertainment (2009) (Sweden) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• Odeon (2009) (Greece) (all media)
• Palace Pictures (2009) (Czech Republic) (all media)
• Paris Filmes (2009) (Brazil) (all media)
• Prisvídeo - Edições Videográficas (2009) (Portugal) (all media)
• SND (2008) (France) (all media)
• Seville Pictures (2008) (Canada) (all media)
• Summit Entertainment (2010) (USA) (DVD) (Blu-ray)
• West Video (2009) (Russia) (all media)

Other Companies

• Behind the Scenes Freight  shipping by
• CE VideoAssist Rental  VideoAssist equipment provided by
• Chapman/Leonard Studio Equipment  dollies
• Cine Finance  completion guarantor
• Eurocargo  shipping services
• Gastrom International  catering
• Hollydan Works  location services
• Hollydan Works  studio production
• ID Public Relations  publicity
• Intersped-B  shipping by
• Louisiana Media Services  post production services
• Modern VideoFilm  digital intermediate
• Panavision  camera equipment serviced by
• Reder & Feig  production legal services
• Ripsped, Montenegro  shipping by
• Sonic Magic  sound post-production
• Soundtrack  ADR Facility (as Soundtrack Boston)

Also Known As:

Penelope (USA) (original script title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for violence, some sensuality and brief strong language.

Runtime:

114 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French | Czech | Japanese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #44635) | Canada:14A (Toronto International Film Festival) | Australia:M | Netherlands:12 | South Korea:12 | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Sweden:11 | Hong Kong:IIA | Finland:K-13 | Singapore:PG | Germany:12 | Portugal:M/12 | Argentina:13 | Mexico:B

Filming Locations:

Bar, Montenegro

Company:

Endgame Entertainment

Trivia:

Penelope's quote "A picture is a secret about a secret. The more it tells, the less you know" is actually a quote by acclaimed American photographer Diane Arbus (1923-1971). The biographical film Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus (2006), featured Nicole Kidman as Diane Arbus; one of the 20th century's most revered photographers.

Goofs:

Errors in geography: The building that can be seen where Stephen is shot is not actually in St. Petersburg it's an old abandoned casino in Constanta, Romania. Also the road that Bloom and Penelope ride into the sunset is in Romania although the number on the car is Russian.

Quotes:

The Curator: Your smile is the sun, ma chère. And fallen men, we need the sun.

Movie Connections:

References Once Upon a Time in America (1984)

oddly enough, or maybe not, character-driven more than by plot - which works

The Brothers Bloom starts off with a bang of cinematic energy. We're introduced, by a kind of whimsical narrator not unlike one might have remembered from Pushing Daisies, to the brothers, Stephen and Bloom, as children in a town where everything is one-note: one group of kids, one store, one this or that. Stephen, the more inventive one of the duo (or rather, the one that will whip up a plan with a quirk or two not unlike Owen Wilson in Bottle Rocket), devises the first con to be that of intriguing the hell out of a group of kids- first part introducing Bloom to a girl, which he likes right away- and then leading to a cave that tricks them all into believing something is there which, of course, is not.

This entire section, about five to ten minutes, is a brilliant short film, self-contained within itself and donning the kind of energy that, again, can be comparable to Wes Anderson. This is not to knock Rian Johnson as an original talent. He is. But for anyone that's seen any of Anderson's films, specifically Bottle Rocket and Rushmore and Life Aquatic, this is that kind of speedy intro that includes very precise pans and movements with the camera and facial expressions that mark this as something, well, "different". This also appears to be how the rest of the story will pan out, this distinctive, acute and stylish endeavor of film-making, as the brothers, grown up (Adrien Brody as Bloom, Mark Ruffalo as Stephen) are continuing with their cons until Bloom wants out, leading up to the typical "one-last-con" deal where-in they'll con a reclusive New Jersey heiress Penelope (Rachel Weisz) who has way too much time on her hands as well as money for the taking.

Then there's the complications, of romance between Bloom and Penelope, and the complication that she's let in on Stephen and Bloom being "artifact smugglers", then the appearance of a certain nefarious figure known as "Diamond Dog", and meanwhile their Silent Bob figure, Bang Bang (Rino Kikuchi), tags along as someone who we only find out late in the game of the story that she has a cell phone (?) and can make origami at just the right moment.

All of this makes The Brothers Bloom sound quite plot driven, not to mention the ups and downs and twists and turns of the cons that happen, or don't, between the brothers, Penelope, the revelations, etc. Depending on the viewer, and how much they'll want to believe or, frankly, how many movies they've seen of this type (one could see this as being a slick parody of a film like 2003's Confidence, also co-starring Rachel Weisz if memory serves), it's like following magicians doing work, not believing a thing or believing everything. Or some of it, perhaps. It's almost like the Prestige if it didn't actually want the audience to believe in magic. More that Johnson wants the audience to make the distinction between characters who draw their own reality and can't seem to break out into their own "unwritten" roles.

And yet, for all the story's twists and turns, its strengths are in the characters. It's actually, not too unlike Anderson (again, sorry), more European influenced in that regard as it takes us along on its journey because of the characters, not the other way around. This helps since the characters all work with their respective players, more or less. More because of Adrien Brody and Rachel Weisz, who play off each other wonderfully as an at-first awkward couple who get further romantically involved (there's a wonderful, spot-on charming scene where we see them kiss, and we understand clearly Penelope is having her first French-style) and connect closest with how Johnson casts them. Less with Ruffalo, who grew on me as the film went on, mainly towards the end (his last scene, without spoiling much, is a keeper for his extended reel), since he's meant to be conniving and devilish but doesn't really fit in even as he's good at delivering the lines and countering Brody and Weisz.

The other way it's also European is that it's meant to be, and is, a director's tour-de-force. As the sophomore effort of Rian Johnson, after his first very impressive debut Brick (which, I should note, also tooled playfully with conventions of a genre as he attempts here), he's aiming quite high. The only problem that I encountered with it was that, perhaps by some proxy of the script, it takes a lot to really get emotionally wound up with these people.

The style of his camera, the tricks of his editing, are like cons in and of themselves, but there's (apologies for this over-used word) quirks to the proceedings that deflate some scenes that would work much better in straightforward terms (I may have been the only one rolling my eyes at the "knickname" for Bang Bang being Yuengling with the line "Yuengling, like the beer?"). Sometimes this excess-of-style works well, like when we flash through all of the "hobbies" Penelope does in her countless spare time at her mansion. Other times, sad to say, it just calls attention to itself without being cool-hip ala Ocean's Eleven or warm-hearted ala (one more time) an Anderson picture.

And yet, for the gripes I might have had, it's impossible for me to ignore what Johnson has shown here and in Brick. He delivers characters we want to watch and situations that unfold with diverting, entertaining results, even as one might never fully believe what will happen next. Or maybe we do. He's a director that isn't going away, and to me this is a good thing. That's no con. 7.5/10