A dark comedy with a heart

Rating: 8/10 (13 October 2019)

Martin Mcdoanagh is a perfect example of how to write bad people who are good.
Ray is not a good person he is rude, vulgar, miserable and to top it off a hitman. However, as the film goes on it pulls us in and shows what a broken a thoughtful man Ray really is.
Performance wise this movie is incredibly strong Colin Farrel and Brendan Gleeson are perfect as a comedic duo they play off of each other wonderfully and the banter between the two feels genuine. Also to accompany that is the more serious talks between the two. Ray's confessions to Ken are truly sad and have a lot of weight to them. Ray's relationship with Chloe also has those nice relaxing sit down moments which help to evolve these characters and create a bond between them as they slowly fall in love. These moments carry this story from what could be a generic buddy comedy film to a deep character drama with a comedic kick.
The star of the show to me is Ralph Fiennes' character-Harry. He is an angry, short tempered man with rules and his motives as the antagonist are completely understandable from start to finish. He is a man who sticks to his principles right to the end and you have to respect him for that. He is not just a cold blooded killer( all the time).
Another great feature of this film is the minor characters and their quirks. The dwarf Jimmy, Yuri and his talk of alcoves, and the pregnant hotel owner. Each of these characters helps make the world feel big and add some extra life to this film.
Cinematography wise this is very well shot, each shot helps convey the sad melancholic tone of the film. The use of cold blues and static wide shots, set the tone perfectly. The camera here is used very well to convey emotion throughout the entire film.
Overall In Bruges is a well told simple plot with fantastic performances throughout and is not bogged down by it's depressing topics of death and guilt. Each character feels real which is a credit to the writing, and the film looks and sounds fantastic. With a very powerful and open ending I highly recommend In Bruges.