In Bruges is set, well…in Bruges, located in Belgium as Colin Farrell so bluntly states in a hilarious pre-emptive opening voice over. Colin Farrell and Brandon Gleeson play two hit-men sent into hiding after one of them botches a job. They arrive in one of Europe’s most treasured and historical of cities, which Ray (Colin Farrell) is absolutely disgusted by, while Ken (Brandon Gleeson) can’t wait to see the rest of it. There in lies just one of the subtle, yet very funny plot lines.
Surprisingly enough, Farrell and Gleeson play off each other to perfection and adding a little bit of Ralph Fiennes never hurts either. The anguish and turmoil exposes itself through the inner torture of Ray, as Ken suffers from the anxiety of another job waiting for him just around the proverbial corner. Their emotions are put on display in some great scenes between the two of them. When their boss (Ralph Fiennes), who somewhere in his decrepit soul has a set of moral principles, is forced to visit Bruges to settle the score, the action picks up and the suspense is unbearable as the shit truly hits the fan.
The biggest surprise for me when watching In Bruges was Colin Farrell. By far. Farrell proved to me that he can without a doubt act the shit out of a movie. He not only delivers the best performance of his career but aside from Heath Ledger’s Joker and Richard Jenkins in The Visitor, I would say Farrell delivers the third best performance so far this year. He was the main focal point of the plot and it never dies down or drags at any part. Especially one scene where Gleeson and Farrell have a heart-to-heart, I said to myself, “Wow, I didn’t know Colin Farrell was such a good actor.” You’ll know which one I’m talking about when you see it, it’s hard to miss.
The city itself plays very important role in the film as well. The visually striking quality of Bruges and the beautiful Cinematography from Eigil Bryld, help define the many levels of the film and actually bring them to life. While great dialogue created by McDonagh’s script, along with some of the year’s best acting certainly makes for a very good flick. Expecting very little from writer/ director Martin McDonagh’s debut, I was pleasantly surprised as to how well the story came together. And as a fan of the “Dark Comedy” genre, In Bruges ranks amongst the top films of the year. But this is more than just a film about hit-men. It goes much deeper than that.
IMDB: 8.1/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 80%
moviewiseguys: 8.5/10
Stamp it! It’s a MADE movie.
