Directed by:
Martin McDonaghScreenplay:
Martin McDonaghCinematography:
Eigil BryldComposer:
Carter BurwellCast:
Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes, Clémence Poésy, Eric Godon, Jérémie Renier, Elizabeth Berrington, Željko Ivanek, Anna Madeley, Jordan Prentice (more)Plots(1)
Following a job that's gone very badly wrong, two hitmen Ray and Ken are sent to Bruges by their boss Harry and told to lie low and await instructions. Ken falls in love with the cobbled streets and canals of the picturesque city but for Ray it's torturous boredom and he upsets both locals and tourists. When the call finally comes from Harry it may not be the ticket out he was hoping for. (Second Sight)
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Reviews (14)
In his feature movie debut, McDonagh gives us exactly what a viewer well-versed in his shorts (or in his frequently staged plays) would expect. Just the restricted room of one train is replaced by the historical center of Bruges, plus a racist dwarf and the phenomenal Rúaidhrí Conroy is replaced by Colin Farrell. I would just like to know what the very numerous community of Vietnamese dwarves living in Canada would have said to this Irish rampaging in Belgium. They must be just as thrilled as our Prague Vietnamese community who were jubilant at the movie theater. And why not, indeed. Although there are no real negatives in this movie, his theatre plays seem to me to be just slightly better (especially “The Pillow Man", not to mention “The Lonesome West").
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If the whole film hadn't been a persistent effort to show "Look how amazingly original and funny dialogues I can write!", I would have rated it more positively, because the melancholic mood that permeates it was very good (for that and for my favourite Brendan Gleeson 3*). Apparently some people are satisfied with the wannabe deep dialogues about the clash of white and black dwarves and don't mind that the main characters behave like idiots, but I am not and so I won't join the crowd of satisfied viewers. The hardly believable conversation after the jump from the tower and the final act of the gangster Waters fall somewhere into the realms of absurd self-parody a la Monty Python
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At first glance, I can’t avoid the idea that this film doesn't belong in the major leagues. However, upon longer reflection, I am coming closer and closer to the conclusion that the script is simply unique and there are not many better films in the comedy-drama category in our cinemas these days. Either way, the Brits have once again pulled it off and clearly prove that their dry humour far exceeds the impotent American entertainment of recent years. A thoroughly intimate, human, beautifully told and, above all, superbly acted story about a group of strange individuals whose strange mindset is put to the ultimate test in the form of the strangest city in the world. It may sound contrived, but Martin McDonagh has created a truly hard-to-describe film whose final half hour I would not hesitate to place high in the hall of fame of world cinema. Perhaps the creators could have done without the conversation after the jump from the tower:)) P.S. For the second time I raise the rating to full, this film is really powerful...
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I saw the trailer for In Bruges when I happened to arrive a bit early for Iron Man and, well, it captured my attention. What’s so special about that? Nothing. But it never happened to me before. I usually watch trailers in the peace of my home, so I know what’s going on (thanks to the guys at MovieZone ;-). Long story short, the movie me even more than the excellent trailer. Two hired killers arrive in a medieval town full of historical monuments for a holiday. And one of them is carrying a memory with him of the last murder, which went wrong in the worst possible way. Collin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson both excel throughout, joined from the second half of the movie by Ralph Fiennes, who I’ve never heard as foulmouthed as he was here. Well I have to take my hat off to the director Martin McDonagh. His debut is already among the best movies produced this year.
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It reminded me a lot of The American with George Clooney in the lead role. It’s similarly expressionistic, austere, and cold. It’s a slow intimate film with a lot of dialogue, emphasising the beautiful location (this time Bruges, shown in all its glory). Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson play interesting characters, and you want to see them on screen as much as possible, but in the end, Ralph Fiennes steals the film for himself. It may be slightly forced in an artsy way, where, unlike in The American or Drive, it tends to shout to the world, "look at how sophisticated and aware we are," but it still holds true that it is an unconventional and raw, genuine film that is entertaining and also sufficiently on par. You will certainly not forget it, it has many fantastic scenes and moments.
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