In Bruges features a Colin Farrell I’d like to see more of onscreen.
He’s not the infallible Hollywood leading man we’ve seen in recent
movies like Miami Vice and The New World. On the contrary, his
character Ray, a hitman from Dublin, is a nervous bundle of energy,
comically crass and clueless, but also strangely sympathetic.
It’s the Irish actor’s most entertaining film performance in years, where he displays both a knack for comedy and, in the more heart-rending scenes, emotional depth.
The story begins after Ray horribly botches his first-ever job and is dispatched along with fellow assassin Ken (Brendan Gleeson) to Bruges, a tourist-heavy medieval city in Belgium. Their instructions are to sit tight and wait for a call from their boss Harry (a wonderfully malevolent Ralph Fiennes). Ken, a father figure of sorts to Ray, finds the place charming and spends his time sightseeing and mingling with the interesting figures that populate Bruges. Ray on the other hand would rather be anywhere else, commenting at one point, “If I'd grown up on a farm and was retarded, Bruges might impress me, but I didn't, so it doesn't.”
After meeting an attractive drug dealer, Chloe (Clemence Poesy), and a dwarf actor named Jimmy (Jordan Prentice) on a film set in the city Ray is momentarily distracted from the tragic act that haunts him. Meanwhile, Ken receives instructions from Harry and is forced to weigh his sense of professionalism against his feelings.
In Bruges is British playwright Martin McDonagh feature film debut, and in many ways it’s a successful one. The script, penned by McDonagh, is bitingly clever but also surprisingly grim at times. This is one of those cases where the trailer builds an expectation of one kind of movie, in this case a rollicking gangster flick, but the film itself is quite a bit more than that. It’s violent, to be sure, but also poignant, asking questions about the consequences of one’s actions, the belief (or lack thereof) in heaven and hell, and whether people who’ve done awful things can turn their lives around. McDonagh, who won an Academy Award in 2006 for the live action short film Six Shooter featuring Gleeson, wisely doesn’t offer easy answers, but lets the viewer come to their own conclusions about the characters’ choices. He also manages to make Ray and Ken two of the most likeable hitmen since Pulp Fiction’s Vincent and Jules.
Gleeson and Farrell in a scene from In Bruges
Though Farrell is unquestionably great, his co-stars Gleeson and Fiennes are also both excellent. Gleeson, who lent dramatic heft to 28 Days Later and the Harry Potter series, has a sad-eyed world-weariness about him. As thoughtful, introspective Ken, he provides the perfect foil to buffoonish, speaks-before-thinking Ray. Fiennes portrays Harry as a man perpetually on the edge – he smashes a telephone to bits when he hears something he doesn’t like, has no compunction about shooting an old friend, and yet has a code of ethics so strict he’s forced to make a dramatic decision in the final act based on his own actions.
The fourth star of the film is Bruges itself. The quaint city centre, where most of the film’s action takes place, is considered a UNESCO World Heritage Site, owing to the fact that most of its medieval architecture remains intact. Many of its sights, including the Belfry, the Basilica of the Holy Blood, and the winding canals, factor significantly into the plot.
The Belgian burg may or may not be up your alley, but you’d be hard pressed not to enjoy the hour and 47 minutes you spend In Bruges.
Posted by Cate Jones
Agree? Disagree? Email Cate at criticizecate@gmail.com
In Bruges *** out of 5
Rated: R/18A
Starring: Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes
Directed by: Martin McDonagh
Written by: Martin McDonagh
Related links: Official site, IMDB page, Apple trailer
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