A subtle film for intellectual openness.

Rating: 9/10 (10 October 2009)

Ken (Brendan Gleeson) and Ray (Colin Farrell) are hit men. Their boss, Harry (Ralph Fiennes), instructs them to travel to Bruges and await further instructions while hiding out in the medieval town, since Ray has made a terrible, life-changing mistake on the job. "In Bruges" is listed virtually everywhere as "comedy", but a slightly-more-than-superficial viewer might have something to say about that. In fact, the film is actually a complex fresco of slapstick comedy, intense mob drama, Gothic phantasmagoria and, to top it all off, grotesque extravaganza. What makes this film so unique and superb is an (apparently) unlikely combination of genres in one unfathomable, original, hilarious and outrageous script, wrongfully devoid of an Oscar. Most of the time you forget that Ken and Ray are Irish mobsters rather accidental tourists and Farrell plus Gleeson plus Fiennes equals comedic virtuosity. Colin Farrell graces us with the best performance of his entire career, full of immeasurable depth and versatility, while Brendan Gleeson watches over him with paternal warmth and veteran excellence. Ralph Fiennes rounds out the main cast as a foul-mouthed, shamefully funny and overly memorable mob-boss, thus proving his exquisite range as an actor. There is one member of the cast who is not mentioned as such, but nevertheless acquires fundamental importance: that is, of course, the town of Bruges, exuding its ancient history from every inch of the screen and wrapped in Eigil Bryld's marvellous cinematography, which gives it an aura of mysticism and mystery seldom achieved in films. Carter Burwell's full-bodied and profound score underlines the dramatic aspects of the story, which crawl almost unnoticed during the first part of the film only to explode with violent and bloody vigour in the second one and culminate into a suspenseful finale. Overall, this subtle operation is not a dish for the weak-hearted or the intellectually obtuse, as it conjures up an emotional journey which requires full involvement, suspension of disbelief and, most importantly, intellectual openness, a trait rarely found in contemporary audiences.