Barbo Uze

Cinema File: 'The Brothers Bloom' a surprising, atypical summer flick

Summertime traditionally is reserved for big-studio productions, movies full of expensive stars and special effects, sequels to proven box office hits. What this usually means is more of the same, the safest bets possible to ensure return on investment for the producers, but little in the way of true substance.

It is rare that a film like "The Brothers Bloom" gets dropped into the mix so early in the season (late August usually is the time when the blockbuster hopefuls start to taper off, allowing for scattered odds and ends that sometimes yield better-than-expected results).

But the fact that "The Brothers" also contains not one but two of the big screen's most memorably offbeat female characters is borderline inconceivable. To put it simply, it's a movie about brothers that really is all about the sisters.

Rachel Weisz (winner of the Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 2006 for "The Constant Gardener") plays Penelope Stamp, a wildly eccentric heiress who becomes the target of lifelong con artist brothers Stephen and Bloom (Mark Ruffalo and Adrien Brody). But she throws their master plan completely off track again and again, proving to be just as fearless as she is weird.

In keeping with his brother's elaborate scheme, Bloom spends an afternoon getting closer to Penelope to gain her trust. What he soon discovers is a highly intelligent, talented woman who spends her days collecting every imaginable hobby.

Not only can she ride a unicycle and juggle chain saws, she can ride a unicycle while juggling chain saws (an impressive montage sequence showcases Weisz playing multiple instruments, break dancing, doing karate, pingpong and riding a skateboard, all of which she actually learned to do for the film).

Everywhere she goes, Penelope drives a yellow Ferrari that she inevitably crashes, only to have an exact replica promptly deliver




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Barbo Uze


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