CLEMENTINE'S REVIEWS

15th December 2008
In Bruges (2008)

Writer: Martin McDonagh Director: Martin McDonagh
Starring: Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes, Clémence Poésy

Two hitmen are holed up in Bruges, Belgium, awaiting a hit. Ray  (Farrell) is the newbie, an honest hothead who is having trouble seeing the charm of this medieval city. Ken (Gleeson) is the experienced hitman with a sense of nobility and a penchant for historical sight seeing. When the hit goes wrong, everything goes pear shaped and their boss Harry (Fiennes) has a conniption. Introduce a possible love interest (Poésy), a movie filming in the centre of town, the actor with dwarfism and Ray's obsession with midgets, and we have a riot of an adventure.

Bruges is beautiful, a wonderful sense of place is achieved. The textured tourist traffic reminds you of every quaint European holiday with milling visitors clutching guidebooks, tired working foreigners, and the proud locals. The script is lively and quite funny without  trying to be too clever. The characters are honest and well cast. Surprisingly, character development in this crime/comedy is handled deftly. Key moments are thoughtful without being sentimental. While hesitant to watch this due to my general indifference of Colin Farrell, he delivered Ray convincingly and did not impair my viewing. I alternated between empathy and dislike for Ray which I think is the balance we're supposed to have. I found Clémence Poésy as Chloë less classically attractive and more beguiling which is a good thing. The film was very entertaining and smart, with excellent pacing and overall a good watch.