In Bruges (2008)

Written & Directed by Martin McDonagh

Colin Farrell ... Ray
Brendan Gleeson ... Ken
Ralph Fiennes ... Harry Waters
Clémence Poésy ... Chloë
Jérémie Renier ... Eirik
Thekla Reuten ... Marie

Rated R
Runtime: 1 hr. 47 mins.


Thank you In Bruges for startling me out of my 2008 movie funk. Now I have an inkling of the joy audiences must have felt when Pulp Fiction assaulted their numbed senses that year at Cannes that changed movies.

I mean, really, it's been a pretty boring year. I haven't compiled a Top 10 list yet. People may think I'm procrastinating, as I have in past years, but the God's honest truth is, I just don't feel compelled. I write a Top 10 to give weight to some great films, some you may have been reluctant to see. But, well, you are probably familiar with most of the movies that are considered good this year, and I haven't really seen any others that I'm dying to get people to see, so...meh.

Then along comes In Bruges. Suddenly I'm excited about movies again. Suddenly there's a film that I want you to see. I told everyone about it yesterday. One person responded, "Isn't that the movie that looks like every other movie?" Yeah, probably. But the amazing thing is it's not like any other movie.

I can tell you the story and you can roll your eyes: Two hitmen are sent to hide out in Bruges, Belgium after a job. The one loves the quaintness of the place and the other just feels stifled. You know, the odd couple with castles. They mess things up and the boss has to come in and fix things with guns.

That's the bare bones plot, but it's not the movie this is. This is the advantage of having a playwright, Martin McDonagh, writing scripts. Humanity comes through. People actually reveal themselves in what they're saying. Their words mean something. The relationships are vibrant and alive and complex. But please don't think of this as a play. Martin McDonagh has adopted the language of film. This isn't some piece that feels like it's been opened up. Well, perhaps. If you think of the entirety of Bruges as a stage.

Will it scare you away if I say that the movie's success is predominantly based on Colin Farrell's performance? I haven't seen a comedic performance this funny in a while. I've never thought of Farrell as a comedic actor. He's hilarious here. His character, Ray, is always one step behind what's actually going on, but not for lack of trying. The performance plays on what our perception of Colin Farrell has been all along: a lost little boy. And I haven't seen all of the Oscar-nominated performances, but considering I'd be rooting for him and Mickey Rourke equally if Farrell had been nominated, I'm willing to bet there's another performance I'd like swapped out.

Contrasted is the presence of Brendan Gleeson as Ken, best known as Mad-Eye Moody from the Potter films. Ken's been at this game a lot longer than Ray and feels a strange fatherly bond to him. There's a great scene where Ray's getting ready for a date, checking himself in the mirror: to button or unbutton the top button? Ken watches with amusement and finally just tells him he looks good. At that point, we're not sure how that's going to be taken, but Ray accepts it. And there's their relationship.

And then there's Ralph Fiennes, ever the reliable crumbling, uppercrust gentleman, here he's Harry, a vile, violent man who runs hitmen. Something about him gave the indication of decay from the inside out. I love a good entrance by a character and he's got a great one.

I haven't told you much, and I apologize. There are plenty of others reviews if you need more. But I want you to discover the movie as I did. To experience the wildly careening shifts from hilarity to pathos to violence. I want you to laugh as the movie surprises you with what the characters do and say and the situations they get themselves into. Here's a sit-com in the highest sense of the word. And I want you to be surprised by just how deep the movie goes.