In Bruges (2008)

Genres

Comedy | Drama

Director

Martin McDonagh

Country

UK | USA

Cast

Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes, Clémence Poésy, Jordan Prentice, Thkle Reuten, Jérémie Reiner, Anna Madeley, Elizabeth Berrington, Eric Godon, Zeljko Ivanek, Ciaran Hinds

Storyline

After an awry job in a London church, Irish hit-men Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson) are sent, waiting for orders, to Bruges, Belgium, by their ruthless boss (Ralph Fiennes).

Opinion

I first heard of "In Bruges" years ago in a top 10 dark comedies list and I decided to watch it because of Colin Farrell. And I also thought it'd be cool to see Lord Volvermort with a nose for a change (please, don't judge my younger self). Anyway, I watched it, and it left me speechless. It really was one of the best dark comedies I saw until then. I've seen a lot of dark comedies since that day, but this is still my favourite because it isn't just funny, but it is smart and thought-provoking.

In his feature lenght debut, Martin McDonagh showed off his amazing writing talent with a multi-layered story that goes from comedy to drama very fast, but so gracefully that it feels like the most natural thing in the world. For this reason, and because of the several plot twists as well, the bizarre and original story he brought to the screen is very interesting and will keep your attention the whole way through.

And it does have a meaning as well. "In Bruges" deals with crisis of conscience, waiting for judgement, sticking to one's principles, but most important it tells a simple thing, violence is absurd and pointless. It is stylised in the film but only to point out its surrelism.

Acting as some sort of purgatory on Earth, the beautiful, picturesque city of Bruges is perfect, and the photography - according to a friend of mine who visited the city - wonderfully captures the magic of the city.

At last but not least there is the cast who delivers the brilliant dialogue to perfection, from Colin Farrell who provides a deep and comedic portrayal of his character, a man slowly consumed by his actions and sense of guilt to Brendan Gleeson, equally good as Farrell's mate who represents the moral center of the film to Ralph Fiennes who also gives a fantastic and quite psychotic performance.

6 comments :

  1. This is one of my favorites movies. I'm determined to see Bruges one day lol.

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  2. I love this movie and it surprises me that i don't have it in my collection! You wrote a great review and I, too, want to make it to Bruges one day

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    Replies
    1. Thanks! I guess we all want to see Bruges.

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  3. E' un gioiellino del genere. L'ho adorato!

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