In Bruges
Studio: New Line Cinema
Rated: R
Cast: Colin Farrell, Ralph Fiennes, Elizabeth Berrington
Director: Martin McDonagh
WorkNameSort: In Bruges
Our Rating: 4.50
A pair of hit men are ordered to cool their heels in the fairy-tale city of Bruges after a job goes terribly wrong. What awful thing happened isn’t clear, but young Ray (Colin Farrell) is clearly the worse for wear. Twitchy and haunted, he hates the idyllic Belgian town and ends up picking fights with tourists and desperately trying to befriend a dwarf film actor. In contrast, Ray’s more experienced partner Ken (Brendan Gleeson) is determined to enjoy their unexpected R&R, embracing Bruges’ quaint medieval sights and his role as a tourist. But the longer these misfits stick around, the more complicated things get. Ray turns suicidal, and the duo’s boss, Harry (Ralph Fiennes), calls to give Ken an impossible order. Guns are drawn, tears are dropped and nothing goes the way it’s supposed to. As with all road movies, it all comes down to chemistry, and almost every character in In Bruges convincingly connects, selling the story’s absurd twists and turns.
This article appears in Feb 20-26, 2008.