Great film, pure and simple

Rating: 9/10 (29 April 2008)

After the Oscar success of Six Shooter, and a great reputation as a play write, much was expected of Martin McDonagh's first feature film. He duly delivers with In Bruges, a fantastic film with commercial appeal that renews faith in British film.
The story is simple, and on the surface may draw groans from people sick to death of British cinema's never-ending obsession with gangster films: two Irish criminals must lay low in Bruges for two weeks while the 'heat' from a bungled hit in London passes. As they wait on a phone call from their boss, one of the men is keen to explore this new town, making the most of his time there, while the other despairs at being in a place he compares to purgatory, failing to see the point in going round looking at buildings. All he wants to do is drink Belgian beer and wait it out. Meanwhile, in London, their boss (cockney gangster a la Don Logan) begins to reveal the real reason for sending them to this town...
First of all, the location is master stroke. A picturesque town in Europe that not many will have heard of before, as the poster points out, below the title in brackets it says: (it's in Belgium). This is the first of many jokes delivered with aplomb. As for the acting and characters, at first i wasn't sure i was going to like Colin Farrel's character. He seemed ignorant, annoying and a little OTT, but he quickly grew on me, especially when his interest is finally sparked not by the prospect of sightseeing but instead by a midget on a film set. As more is revealed about his character, the more i liked him. As for Brendan Gleeson, who was also in Six Shooter, he is a very good actor, versatile and intelligent, he has a face that draws you in and keeps you comfortable. Ralph Fiennes as Harry, the boss with a clear code of ethics and conduct, is blatantly doing an impression of Don Logan from Sexy Beast, but he does a good job and by the end we find this is not only amusing but appropriate to the plot line. The other performance worthy of noting is that of Elizabeth Berrington, who plays the beautiful Dutch love interest for Colin Farrel. Her accent is convincing and her character is cheekily likable.
The script is brilliant, full of jokes, satire and poignant moments. The story fizzes along and on reflection not a second of screen time seemed wasted. The plot ties everything in by the end, but refuses to end sympathetically. The final twenty minutes or so do become very dark, and those familiar with Six Shooter may not be surprised by this, or McDonagh's ability to retain the humour and believability despite the nasty things that occur. This is best demonstrated by the self-effacing humour as the film knowingly sends up previous gangster films whilst never really feeling too familiar.
All in all, i went to see this expecting it to be good, and was happy to find it is better than that. The audience in the screening i attended also thoroughly enjoyed it, laughing all the way through and passing positive comments afterwards. I can't wait for Martin McDonagh's next film, it seems we Brits have another star director in the making.