In Bruges (2008)

Guilt-stricken after a job gone wrong, hitman Ray and his partner await orders from their ruthless boss in Bruges, Belgium, the last place in the world Ray wants to be.

Director:

Martin McDonagh

Writer:

Martin McDonagh

Stars:

Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Ciarán Hinds

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 18 wins & 42 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 (as Jean Mark Favorin)
Ralph Fiennes	...	Harry
Brendan Gleeson	...	Ken
Eric Godon	...	Yuri
Zeljko Ivanek	...	Canadian Guy
Sachi Kimura	...	Imamoto
Anna Madeley	...	Denise
Louis Nummy	...	Harry's child #3
Clémence Poésy	...	Chloe

Storyline

London based hit men Ray and Ken are told by their boss Harry Waters to lie low in Bruges, Belgium for up to two weeks following their latest hit, which resulted in the death of an innocent bystander. Harry will be in touch with further instructions. While they wait for Harry's call, Ken, following Harry's advice, takes in the sights of the medieval city with great appreciation. But the charms of Bruges are lost on the simpler Ray, who is already despondent over the innocent death, especially as it was his first job. Things change for Ray when he meets Chloe, part of a film crew shooting a movie starring an American dwarf named Jimmy. When Harry's instructions arrive, Ken, for whom the job is directed, isn't sure if he can carry out the new job, especially as he has gained a new appreciation of life from his stay in the fairytale Bruges. While Ken waits for the inevitable arrival into Bruges of an angry Harry, who feels he must clean up matters on his own, Ray is dealing with his own ...

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Plot Keywords:

canadian | irish | church | drugs | christmas | 

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Taglines:

Shoot first. Sightsee later.

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

18A

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

18 April 2008 (UK)

Also Known As:

Bienvenue à Bruges

Filming Locations:

Brugge, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£343,760 (UK) (7 March 2008)

Gross:

$7,757,130 (USA) (13 June 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Blueprint Pictures, Focus Features, Scion Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The word 'fuck' and its derivatives are said 126 times in this 107-minute film, an average of 1.18 'fucks' per minute.

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Goofs

The Canadian somehow winds up on the same train, on the same car, as Ray. This chance is totally improbable.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Ray: After I killed them, 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, youse dumb fucks. Get to Bruges." I didn't even know where Bruges fucking was.
[pause]
Ray: It's in Belgium.

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Crazy Credits

In the on-screen credits, Kathy Heaser is listed twice as Graphic Designer.

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Connections

References Primal Fear (1996)

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Soundtracks

Schubert: 24. Der Leiermann [Winterreise, D.911]
Composed by Franz Schubert (uncredited)
Written by Wilhelm Müller (uncredited)
Performed by Andreas Schmidt
Courtesy of Deutsche Grammophon GmbH (Germany)
Under license from the Universal Music Group, Film and Television Licensing Division

User Reviews

You got to stick with your principles…In Bruges

I think that I will shortly be purchasing the Oscar winning short film Six Shooter from 2004. I've got an iTunes gift card for just the job. The thought occurred to me after seeing the wonderful debut from director Martin McDonagh, In Bruges. After seeing the trailer, which really worked for me, many times and wondering at how it is from an Oscar winning director yet never hearing of the name, I did some research. While he already has more little gold men than Alfred Hitchcock, his actual feature premiere is what has opened this weekend. It is Irish, most definitely, and if you have trouble with the accent, maybe you should steer clear until in comes out on DVD, however, if you can cope, this is a smart pitch black comedy. When I say pitch black, I mean black hole expanse of darkness. The trailer leads you to believe it will be an uproarious time, and while it is very funny and very smart, there is a tragic event that is held over the proceedings, lending a somber shadow over all that occurs. In the end though, it is consistent with its wit and drama, telling an intriguing story and never relying on the laughs to hide any plot point that the creators may not have wanted to work out to completion.

If I am to gripe about anything, it will be the ending. Not the very end, however, as that is absolutely perfect. The camera-work, voice-over, and final shot cannot be argued, it is the climax that happens just before that rings false. It is the only moment like that, though, so I don't hold it against the film. McDonagh needed a way to get his characters to their arc's conclusions and if that means turning one of the roles, at first seeming to be there for jokes, into a pawn for a symmetrical kind of convenience, I'll give him that reprieve. As far as fitting with the story, yeah it works; it has to because the incident is alluded to unknowingly at many times during the course of the sightseeing romp. I guess I think it fits too well and wish McDonagh could have come up with another way to do it.

Besides that, though, In Bruges is a great time at the theatre. Colin Farrell is steadily becoming a favorite of mine with his precise comic timing and broad facial expressions. I may be one of the few people on earth that loved his comedic turn in Woody Allen's Cassandra's Dream, (yes I truly believe the comedy was intentional), and here he shows it was not a fluke. Kind of similar to his scene-stealing role in Intermission, he is a punk with a lousy disposition and disregard for tact. Here, however, he also has a conscience. This tug-of-war is ripe for laughs as he is a sweet guy, he just doesn't know how to keep his mouth shut. One-liners are in abundance and you will be laughing continuously. Brendan Gleeson helps this fact by being an effective straightman to play off of. He knows the score and tries to enjoy the "fairytale" city while his cohort sulks and puts on "moods like a five year old" because, honestly, unless you grew up on a farm and were slightly retarded, Bruges is really just hell on earth. (Actually, the city looks pretty great and I wouldn't mind checking it out once in my lifetime.) The periphery roles, and there are many, also add depth and interest to the film. Small characters like Eric Godon's alcove loving gun dealer, Jordan Prentice as a horse-tranquilizer taking midget actor (he played Howard the Duck, that is awesome), and Clémence Poésy as the love interest and enigma Cholë all are fun and never quite feel just thrown in as jokes, but instead integral parts to the story. Of course, the great Ralph Fiennes is involved too. His accent and vocabulary rivals Ben Kingsley in Sexy Beast and unfortunately is a much smaller part than anticipated from the trailer. Well maybe not unfortunately, because if he was in more it might have become a gimmick. I also couldn't help stop thinking of Harry Potter with Mad-Eye Moody, Lord Voldemort, and Fleur Delacour all involved.

I highly recommend this film for anyone looking to see a good drama with comic overtones. Don't go in thinking this is to be a total good time, with laughs a minute, there is so much more to the tale that you may not expect or necessarily be hoping for. At times it is very dark and drains every molecule of happiness out of your heads, but thankfully a good joke or line will be coming shortly to alleviate the depression.