In Bruges (2008)

Director:

Martin McDonagh

Writer:

Martin McDonagh (written by)

Release Date:

29 February 2008 (Poland)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Shoot first. Sightsee later.

Plot:

Holed up in Bruges, Belgium after a difficult job, two hit men begin to differ on their views of life and death as they become used to local customs.

Plot Keywords:

Medieval | Christmas | Tourist | Belgium | Drugs

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 13 wins & 32 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Elizabeth Berrington	...	Natalie
Rudy Blomme	...	Ticket Seller
Olivier Bonjour	...	Film Director
Mark Donovan	...	Overweight Man
Ann Elsley	...	Overweight Woman #2
Colin Farrell	...	Ray
Jean-Marc Favorin	...	Policeman
Ralph Fiennes	...	Harry Walters
Brendan Gleeson	...	Ken
Eric Godon	...	Yuri
Zeljko Ivanek	...	Canadian Guy
Sachi Kimura	...	Imamoto
Anna Madeley	...	Denise
Louis Nummy	...	Harry's child #3
Clémence Poésy	...	Chloë Villette

MPAA:

Rated R for strong bloody violence, pervasive language and some drug use.

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English | German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

UK:18 | Ireland:16 (theatrical rating) | USA:R (certificate #43954) | Netherlands:16 | Germany:16 | Finland:K-15 | Canada:13+ (Québec) | Canada:14A (Manitoba) | South Africa:16LV | Canada:18A (Alberta/British Columbia/Ontario) | Australia:MA | Austria:14 | New Zealand:R16 | Argentina:16 | Ireland:18 (DVD rating) | Singapore:M18 (cut) | Brazil:16 | Portugal:M/16 | South Korea:18 | Spain:18 | Chile:14 | Mexico:C | Sweden:15 (DVD rating) | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Iceland:16 (theatrical rating) | France:U (with warning) | Peru:14

Filming Locations:

Brugge, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium

Company:

Blueprint Pictures

Trivia:

In one scene, Ray (Colin Farrell) fires a blank into a thug's eye, blinding it. In Tigerland (2000), Farrell's character fires a blank into a man's eye, but doesn't blind him.

Goofs:

Errors made by characters (possibly deliberate errors by the filmmakers): When Ray tells Ken that they are in the Basilica of the Holy Blood, named after a phial of Christ's blood brought back from the Crusades, they are not. They are in the Jeruzalemkerk, a private church built in the 15th century as a mausoleum for a wealthy merchant's family. The Basilica is the most visited church in Bruges.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Ray: After I killed him, I dropped the gun in the Thames, washed the residue off me hands in the bathroom of a Burger King, and walked home to await instructions. Shortly thereafter the instructions came through - "Get the fuck out of London, you dumb fucks. Get to Bruges." I didn't even know where Bruges fucking was.
[pause]
Ray: It's in Belgium.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Wright Stuff: (#9.174)" (2008)

Soundtrack:

That Time

Nice Blend Of Drama And Comedy

One of the problems with seeing a trailer for a film is it creates an expectation. If it raises expectations, and the film delivers, great. However, if the film is less then expected, then the viewer feels cheated. The best case scenario is the one I found myself in before I saw In Bruges. Low expectations.

After seeing the trailer, In Bruges looked like a plodding British comedy with little originality and repetitious humor, hence the low expectations. Yet, In Bruges exceeded my minimal expectations, and, unlike my impression from the trailer, was an original drama with good acting and a nice blend of comedy mixed in. It was funny in the right places and appropriately dramatic when the story shifted into high gear towards the end.

Set in, no surprise here, Bruges, Belgium, the plot focuses on two London hit men, Ray played by Colin Farrell, and Ken, played by Brendan Gleeson. The pair is sent to Belgium after Ray botches his first hi. And therein lies the humor, Ray has no interest in being in the medieval city, and Ken wants to sight see.

I've never really liked Colin Farrell but who knew he had such a good sense of comedic timing? There is a running gag involving fighting with a bottle, and karate, that he manages to keep fresh as it pops up throughout the film. Brendan Gleeson's character provides the moral center and plays the straight man to Farrell's Ray. This works well as the movie turns more serious towards the end. However, for my money, the best performance is delivered by Ralph Fiennes who plays Harry the pair's criminal overlord back in London. Whereas Gleeson character embodies the moral center, Fiennes's Harry fills the role of principled immorality, if there is such a thing. Fiennes creates a character with a dubious moral center and is a quite believable figure of menace when he travels to Bruges to square off with Ken. Also, of note, is Jordan Prentice, an irritable dwarf who's in town to act in a movie filming there. His ramblings in one scene, about a coming race war, is worth the price of admission right there.

The only aspect of the film that didn't work for me was Ray's love interest. Early in the film he manages to woo Chloe, a drug dealer with, drum roll please, a heart of gold. For my tastes, the budding romance seems a little forced and comes across more as a vehicle for jokes and drama. But it's a small thing and I doubt anyone but me would notice.

I intentionally left a lot of plot points out, because, as I've mentioned, this film surprised me in a good way and I don't won't to ruin it for anyone else.

In Bruges is a good film. Go see it.

At the very least, it'll make you want to visit Bruges.