THEY’D NEVER LET THE TRUTH COME BETWEEN THEM.
Professional con artist Stephen Bloom (Mark Ruffalo) convinces his brother (Adrien Brody) to join him for one last swindle, targeting an eccentric heiress (Rachel Weisz). The director behind Brick (2005) delivers another quirky film, this time about a subject matter that I’m frankly pretty tired of. The concept of con artists playing tricks on other characters as well as the movie audience, with endless twists, has been done to death. Still, Rian Johnson wins me over scene by scene thanks to a winning cast, a clever story about a contentious but loving relationship between brothers, and frequently amusing asides.
2009-U.S. 109 min. Color. Widescreen. Written and directed by Rian Johnson. Music: Nathan Johnson. Cast: Rachel Weisz (Penelope), Mark Ruffalo (Stephen), Adrien Brody (Bloom), Rinko Kikuchi, Robbie Coltrane, Maximilian Schell. Cameo: Joseph Gordon-Levitt.
Trivia: The director allegedly changed parts of the script after input from Tom Cruise.
