"Maybe that's what hell is: the entire rest of eternity spent in effing Bruges"

Rating: Null/10 (1 December 2008)

What exactly is "In Bruges"? A 'quirky' crime/comedy in the vein of Guy Ritchie's early films and the slew of imitations which followed? A meta deconstruction of the crime genre? A character-based drama laced with plenty of humor? Martin McDonagh doesn't want to limit himself to one of those things, making "In Bruges" if nothing else a film certainly worth seeing, and something that promises a future for him as a film writer (he is already a well- established and acclaimed playwright responsible for the superb Leenane trilogy and the closer in tone to "In Bruge" Aran Islands trilogy, yet to be completed).
While there is nothing bad about McDonagh's direction it's pretty standard modern TV- level stuff, there's the typical amateur trick of having the camera moving nonstop even when people are just talking (although McDonagh makes the wise decision not to do this whenever our lead romantic pair are on-screen, suggesting that he at least had a reason for doing that when the criminals were conversing, even though it's still an unwelcome distraction and a cheap ploy to keep impatient viewers interested). The film never rises above the level of a television series visually, in spite of some neat outdoor scenes where the cinematography becomes notably better than it is throughout the rest of the movie (where, again, it's pretty standard TV-level stuff). I would have loved to see this script handled by a more mature, experienced, and better director than McDonagh, although he could improve later in his career for sure.
The screenplay is not surprisingly a far more consistent and solid affair. Not everything works and there's a little too much reliance on catchphrases and character quirks which are supposed to make you laugh just by inclusion ('in f-ckin' Bruges' was funny, oh, the first ten times, but it gets old), as well as too many 'look how clever this is' meta touches ('are you stupid? This is the shootout!'). Still, the movie is genuinely funny a lot of the time, and has a surprising amount of depth with the two main characters, particularly Colin Farrell's character Ray (and Farrell is great here, which helps. He's done this sort of thing before, but nothing has given him as much to chew on, and he's surprisingly good at the more contemplative stuff). The far-fetched ending, which fits with the tone of the film and the established idea that being in Bruges is like being in a fairytale, is still a costly mistake along with everything leading up to it, and Ralph Fiennes is coasting on his 'evil routine' here, with, again, some meta comedic touches. Still, considering the ambition of the script, to make something more out of a genre which has been extremely lightweight for a long time, it's overall quite successful.
"In Bruges" is not McDonagh's best work as a writer, but hopefully it will open doors for him in the industry and allow more of his dark comedy, often featuring some real intelligence and solid character writing, to be seen by a wider audience. "In Bruges" is fresh and involving enough, neither as bad (and certainly not as 'tired') as its detractors claim it is, and probably not quite as good as its fans would tell you. Worthwhile viewing.