One man's heaven, another man's hell

Rating: Null/10 (17 February 2008)

I saw in Bruges last night and to be honest I'm still struggling with it a bit. The trailer for the film is misleading, as it makes it look like one of those fun sassy Guy Ritchie style movies about a couple of quirky hit men hiding out well In Bruges. The dialogue is Tarantino-esquire sharp and very funny. But the trailer gives no hints whatsoever to the darkness of the material lurking in "the alcoves" of this film.
The violence is intense, and disturbing both thematically and visually. This is NOT a light comedy for kids. I would hesitate about letting teenagers see it as well. I know a lot of people have been desensitized to violence, and I have too to a large degree. Tarantino does violence like a kid playing with plastic army toys in the backyard. You know he's just splashing fake blood all over everything so you never really invest all that much weight to it. But the violence in In Bruges is realistic and visceral in a way that seems much too dark, intense and serious for the comedy it introduces itself as.
The characters take the violence and associated guilt and consequences seriously as well. I can't tell if the director intended for the drama to be as serious as the comedy is funny or if the actors he brought together on screen are simply way too talented and played it too straight. Then again, the darkness of the demon is much too serious to play it any other way.
Farrell plays the guilt-ridden Ray to Macbeth perfection, craving distraction in the form of drink, drugs and women to avoid facing his freshly minted demons, and twitching with discomfort at his exile in the calm, sleepy bucolic Bruges, a place tailor made for quiet reflection. He is literally squirming with frustration, boredom and remorse like a 10 year old kid in church. His rapport with Brendon Gleeson is delightful, easy and funny, a patient older brother/younger brother dynamic. Gleeson's Ken finds an inspired serenity to the city, and his reflection on Ray's plight brings forth a strong conviction of compassion for the younger man. The dichotomy that plays between their characters as Bruges presents itself as one man's heaven and another man's hell is genuine and interesting.
As a comedy the film is sassy and delightfully fun. As a drama, the film is dark and unexpectedly movingly dramatic. But combining both of these tones into one film left me feeling a bit confused as to how to feel. What Ray did was bad. Real bad. It was hard to abandon myself to the sassy silliness of the comedy, given the darkness of the dirty deeds. I felt guilty laughing at the jokes, and regardless of how charming Farrell is, I still felt conflicted about sympathizing with Ray.
Movie goers with a thicker skin will enjoy it tremendously. I find myself wondering why the guys who can make this truly hip, fresh, funny stuff can't leave out all the blood and demons for once and just let me kick back and enjoy.