Cinophile: In Bruges

Two assassins have to skip out of the U.K. for a while after a botched job. Sent to the Belgian city of Bruges, they wait for word from their boss. Taking in the sights of this scenic medieval town, from the start the two assassins’ divergent personalities play off with razor wit. It escalates into a mesmerizing ride, one that won all sorts of critical acclaim and re-established Colin Farrell’s movie career.

But Farrell’s success has overshadowed just how brilliant the rest of this film is. Yes, he fuels a lot of it with his impulsive and tortured hitman Ray. But Brendan Gleeson’s Ken, the other assassin, is a perfect counterweight to the childish Ray. He takes in the sights with an air of confidence and experience, something that comes to play quite strongly later in the film and explains why the two characters are so different. And then there is Harry, Ralph Fiennes’ brilliant gangster boss, easily comparable to Snatch’s Brick Top or Sexy Beast’s Don Logan. His strange code of ethics works as the film’s catalyst more than once.

In Bruges’ brilliance is its constant slight of hand. It’s a film that delivers its jokes on the sly and keeps dropping subtle hints on where things may be going. Yet you never see any of it coming. Ray’s impulsivity is what pushes this forward at first, but his character is almost a diversion to keep the audience from realising the entire movie is shooting from the hip. But this isn’t the kind of movie you can watch with half an eye: the jokes are layered and moments pass in the blink of an eye.

While Ray appears to be the tortured star of the show, in reality all of the main characters have some problem that gnaws at them.Maybe black comedies about assassins work so well because they take the absurd and make them relatable and memorable. In Bruges uses this to great effect, but also knows its stuff. The conversation between Ray and Harry during a gunfight is highly reminiscent of the genre’s gold standard, Grosse Point Blank. It is also intense and at times very violent. Most of all, you actually end up liking all the characters, even antagonists like the meddling ex-boyfriend of Ray’s love interest.

In Bruges is quite simply a masterpiece and if you didn’t like it… let’s just say it is not the movie’s fault.