Review of The Brothers Bloom (2008) by Mike M — 01 Jun 2010
A near-perfect example of Second Film Syndrome. Having impressed some with his taut, self-contained - and, to these eyes, somewhat arch - high-school noir "Brick", writer-director Johnson decamped to Europe with some of his regular cast (there are cameos for "Brick"'s Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Nora Zehetner) and a handful of more prominent names, and arrived at something a good deal baggier and more divisive.
.. Again, Johnson reveals himself to know more about books and films than he does about life, yet "The Brothers Bloom", vacillating throughout between the high-functioning autism of Wes Anderson and the more expansive and generous storytelling of Paul Thomas Anderson, finally tips its bowler hat in the direction of the latter, and - like its characters - at least tries to follow its heart beyond the quotation marks.
It could do with a tighter rein - or, given the film's preponderance of out-of-control vehicles, a better handbrake - but there's a directorial sensibility here worth sticking with.
This review of The Brothers Bloom (2008) was written by Mike M on 01 Jun 2010.
The Brothers Bloom has generally received positive reviews.
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