In Bruges
I saw In Bruges expecting another violent, self-consciously hip swear-fest along similar lines to the works of Guy Ritchie, whose films I do not care for (even the bafflingly popular Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels). I was therefore pleasantly surprised to find that not only did it go some way to restore respectability to the term “British gangster film”, but it also made me want to visit Bruges. Until now my impression of Belgium was basically a big flat motorway with some service stations located on the way to more interesting countries. However, the use of locations in this film - beautiful medieval buildings, churches and so forth – made me want to pay another visit, especially at Christmas time.
The plot involves Irish gangster odd couple Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson), who are sent by their boss Harry (Ralph Fiennes) to Bruges to hide out following a hit that went pear-shaped. They are supposed to lay low, but their trip is complicated by Ray’s involvement with small time drug dealer Chloe (Clemense Poesy), her amusingly inept boyfriend, and a racist dwarf who is acting in a bad movie inspired by Nic Roegg’s 1973 horror film Don’t Look Now.
Performances are all good, and Ralph Fiennes cockney accent was surprisingly convincing. Although In Bruges isn’t strictly a comedy, writer/director Martin McDonagh’s profane but blackly comical screenplay generates more laughs than most alleged comedies. The jokes are politically incorrect but hilarious. Gallows humour banter between Ray and Ken, endless gags about dwarfs and a stand out scene involving a fight Ray provokes with a Canadian will delight audiences with strong stomachs.
But despite the laughs, this has the feel of a classic tragedy, almost Shakespearean in construction. Occasionally recalling Carol Reed’s 1947 classic Odd Man Out, particularly in the final scenes, In Bruges falls short of greatness due to its reliance on co-incidence to drive the climax. But the mixture of pitch black comedy and gruesome violence doesn’t feel awkward, as it does in similar contemporary works (the afore-mentioned Guy Ritchie’s back catalogue for instance). In fact, In Bruges even has something to say, if not necessarily anything very profound, about the nature of sin, repentance and the possibility of redemption. Essentially it’s about a man struggling with the guilt of a terrible deed, and wrestling with whether or not he can change.
However, for most Christian audiences, no amount of pseudo-spiritual musings about life, death, heaven and hell will be able to offset the graphic bloody violence and very strong language (f-words and worse throughout more than earn its 18 certificate). Therefore, although I must guiltily confess to thoroughly enjoying the film, I recommend approaching with extreme caution.
Simon Dillon, April 2008.
