‘Brothers Bloom’ pours on too much charm

Alonso Duralde Film critic

Be careful what you wish for: On paper, the idea of an international con-man caper movie starring charismatic actors wearing retro-elegant fashions sounds exactly like my kind of film. And while I salute writer-director Rian Johnson (“Brick”) for making just such a romp, I only wish I could be unhesitatingly enthusiastic about the results.

But even if “The Brothers Bloom” winds up smothering itself with twee self-awareness, there’s a certain jauntiness to the proceedings that keeps it aloft for most of its running time.

The titular siblings are lifelong con men: Stephen (Mark Ruffalo), the elder, concocts con games of such depth and poetry that they are compared to Russian literature by Bloom (Adrien Brody), his accomplice and younger brother. Stephen claims his schemes are perfect because everyone comes out of it getting what they want, although Bloom is obviously left dissatisfied and lovelorn after a life of chicanery.

Quick facts Starring: Adrian Brody, Mark Ruffalo, Rachel Weisz, Rinko Kikuchi Director: Rian Johnson Run time: 1 hour, 49 minutes MPAA rating: PG-13

Bloom tries to drop out of the family business, but Stephen comes calling on him in Montenegro to pitch One Last Con, the fleecing of shut-in heiress Penelope Stamp (Rachel Weisz). Having spent most of her life ensconced in her family’s sprawling New Jersey mansion, whiling away the hours “collecting hobbies” (from chainsaw-juggling to ship-in-bottle building to learning most of the world’s languages), she’s starved for adventure. So when Bloom passes himself off as a globe-trotting antiques dealer, Penelope happily tags along for steamships to Greece and sleeper-cars to Prague.

Also along for the ride is Bang Bang (Rinko Kikuchi), a silent-but-deadly demolitions expert who provides explosives know-how to go with the Blooms’ skill at bending the truth.

If art direction alone is the kind of thing that gets you into the theater, you won’t be disappointed by “Brothers Bloom” — the locations are lush and the costumes are breathtakingly old-school. It’s the sort of movie where men wear linen suits and ascots with no irony whatsoever, where French cuffs and fedoras are part of everyday living.

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All the hats, however, symbolize where the movie goes off the rails. “The Brothers Bloom” can’t stop reminding the audience that it’s watching a movie, specifically a breezy, larcenous romp in the vein of “To Catch a Thief” or “Trouble in Paradise.” Which would be fine, were it not for a third act in which the story tries to get darker (with the appearance of the brothers’ mentor in crime, played by an eyepatch-sporting Maximillian Schell) and more realistic.

Neither Brody nor Ruffalo make con artistry as delectable as the film’s narrator, trickery expert and Mamet regular Ricky Jay, would have; even though Brody is blessed with a face that’s like a cross between Buster Keaton and a sixth Marx Brother, he’s never particularly funny or engaging.

Where the film’s men fail, however, the women more than take up the slack. Kikuchi gives an inspired performance that made me laugh early and often; it’s easily one of the most accomplished silent comedy turns in talking pictures. And Weisz finds a new spin on the daffy-heiress character that’s a constant delight. Penelope’s having a great time even after “The Brothers Bloom” stops being one.

Follow msnbc.com Movie Critic Alonso Duralde at http://www.twitter.com/MSNBCalonso.

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