Sure, The Brothers Bloom may be the headline act, but it is the sisters eccentric that make the film.

And what The Brothers Bloom is, essentially, is a grafter movie, which is a hard talk considering that every year or so, a new con-man movie comes along and wears out the sub-genre with a new batch of twists and betrayals.

But The Brothers Bloom has an ace up its sleeve in writer/director Rian Johnson. He made his debut back in 2005 with the high school set noir Brick, and Johnson channels the same old school charm here.

A snappy prologue introduces the main characters as children, swindler orphans who don similar black and attire as the brothers blues, only a little less cool. Fast track to the present day, and the brothers are playing the final masterstroke in their latest grift.

Steven (Mark Ruffalo) is the smart one who thinks up the schemes, in which younger brother Bloom (Adrien Brody, playing the role as a whimpering puppy dog) plays the main feature. But an existence of living a life written by someone else has run its course: Bloom wants out.

One last grift is planned. Their mark: kooky heiress Penelope (Rachel Weisz), a woman with all the money in the world, but no stimulation in her life, save for the occasional crashing of her Lamborghini.

Weisz injects the role with such warmth and naivety that it is almost impossible not to fall in love with her, as Brody’s Bloom predictably does.

Her character, something of a billionaire hermit, has mastered the art of many skills, of which Weisz demonstrates in convincing enough fashion to make the viewer believe she is the master of all trades: violin, banjo, juggling, skate boarding, martial arts...all are demonstrated with such authoritative fashion, it begs to question: what can’t Weisz do? Sadly, not scoring some type of awards recognition for her role seems to be one of them.

Equally impressive is Rinko Kikuchi who, perhaps in either a tribute (or spoof) of her Oscar nominated role in Babel, once again plays a mute as the mysterious assistant, Bang Bang. Anyone who thinks that the art of mime is dead needs to see Kikuchi’s performance. There are jokes played out here that rival any punch line or crude act seen thus far this year, and without the aid of verbal jousting.

Contemplating the films acting is the stellar photography by Steve Yediling, with every shot filled with a bubbling vibrancy.

But almost undercutting it all is Johnson’s insistence of pushing this otherwise convincing and entertaining gift into a bland and not needed dark final act. There is a moment where the film could have ended on a satisfying note, yet as most cons go, greed is its downfall.

As such, The Brothers Bloom is a film filled with many wonderful moments, yet does not reach its potential as a whole. Still, it is worth seeing for Johnson’s unique approach, and Weisz and Kikuchi performances.