April: Cons & Capers (3 of 4)

And this is it...the one I've been waiting for!! I know that many of you will not have seen this movie and I've been so anxious to introduce you to it that I got up early so I could write this post before the kids wake up.

I saw the trailer for this film some time ago and was intrigued by what appeared to be a clever and twisty plotline, snippets of lighthearted and funny dialogue and by the fact that it stars Adrien Brody and Mark Ruffalo. Are you kidding me? AWESOME!! Love them both to bits.

Then, because we never go to movies anymore, I forgot about it until it showed up on our Netflix recommendation list. Within a few days I was holding in my hand a little red envelope filled with as-yet-untold goodness.

I watched it once. I watched it twice. I watched it three times. Then I decided I had better get up off the couch. Ok, not really. I didn't actually watch it three times in a row, but I wanted to! And I did watch it probably 4 or 5 times before returning it to Netflix. Then we went and bought it and I've watched it several more times since then.

It's charming, hilarious, confusing, convoluted, heartbreaking, and feel-good. The characters are all completely compelling and zip right into your heart within their first few moments. Of course Mark Ruffalo and Adrien Brody are fantastic, but the two ladies are just as good. I think the real standout of the cast might be Rinko Kikuchi, who, despite a role with almost no lines, just about steals every scene she's in. 

I'm not going to waste time telling you the plot. It's clear enough that you can get it as you watch and confusing enough that I just don't want to go into it here. I'll just outline a few of my favorite things:

1) one of the best movie openings I've ever seen. The introduction is clever and cute and sets up the main characters brilliantly.

2) after having seen it now probably 10 times, I still see new things with each viewing. There are so many layers in the imagery and story that you just never get to the bottom of it. It's not like it makes any claims to be some deep, philosophical treatise and I'm not making that claim either, it's just that the filmmakers and writers were extremely clever and thoughtful about what they put into the details. It's a pleasure to watch each new time.

3) my number one, all-time favorite romantic movie moment. It's not a love scene per se, just a small moment of hand-holding, sunshine and utter happiness. You'll see.

Ok, enough said. I love everything about this movie and wholeheartedly recommend it to you.

things to be aware of: I don't recall any language, there's a bit of mock-violence (they are con-artists, after all) and a somewhat embarrassing moment on a train. If you want to know specifics, you should probably look the movie up on one of those "ratings explained" sites. Again, I'd let my kids watch it, but you know me.

up next week: The Sting