Boston Now Review / 14.02.08
Source: Boston Now
In Bruges is a bloody good time
When their assignment goes horribly wrong, a pair of Irish hit men have to go on the lam and hide out, so their employer sends them to the one place nobody would ever think of looking for them: Bruges.
Before you reach for an atlas, Bruges is a city in Belgium that looks like it hasn't changed in 600 years, which is a delight to one of the hit men, Harry (Brendan Gleeson), and absolute torture to his partner, Ray (Colin Farrell).
There's a lot of comedy to be found in the bad guys' situation in In Bruges, and director Martin McDonagh knows how to milk it. He also has a deft sense of comic timing when it comes pacing the film, bringing in new and increasingly stranger characters to add spice to the proceedings at just the right moments.
Funny as it is, though, there is a dark and extremely violent side to the story that's as entertaining, in its own way, as the comedy of the film. There are times whether you don't know whether to laugh or puke - or both - and that makes In Bruges a very unique movie indeed.
Directed by Martin McDonagh. Starring Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson and Ralph Fiennes.
4 stars
