In Bruges Review

Rating: 9/10 (5 September 2015)

In Bruges is a 2008 film directed and written by Oscar winner Martin McDonagh, and I don't know why this man has only directed 2 feature films. The movie follows two hit-man that are sent to Bruges by their boss to wait for further instructions after a hit gone wrong. Colin Farell plays 'Ray', a young and obnoxious hit-man who wants nothing more than to leave Bruges and never come back. Brendan Gleeson plays 'Ken', Ray's more older, experienced partner, who wants to take in the beauty of the city while they are there. Both of the characters play off of each other in a hilarious way, and it adds to the black comedy of the movie. Ralph Finnes especially shines, even though he does not show up until 75% into the film. That's my brief rundown, now for spoiler time!
WARNING: "DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN IN BRUGES" spoilers below I especially enjoyed the third act of the film, and thought it was a fantastic climax. The ending showed death, redemption, sacrifice, humor, and most importantly dreams. It wasn't until a second watch that I started to notice the theme of dreams recurring in the film. The character Chloe said that the movie that was being shot with the midgets was a dream sequence, and when Harry asked ken on the phone what Ray thought of Bruges, Ken said Ray called it dream-like, and the finale of the film takes place in this dream sequence movie set. I am probably reading too much into this, but maybe was Rays test to redeem himself and he succeeded, sending him to heaven at the end of the film, and the dream messages were telling us that the entire film is a dream, and it is only god testing Ray or something. (Keep in mind this is coming from and atheist) I think this is a cool theory to think of, even though it is probably all a stupid coincidence.
This movie has probably one of the best screenplays of recent times. the dialog between the main two characters can be hilarious, dramatic, and even sad when it needs to be. The writer and director, Martin McDonagh has a great way of grabbing the audience, and not letting go, his great work on this film allows the audience to feel completely immersed in the film. Don't even take my word for it, Roger Ebert gave it 4 stars, and called it a fantastic character study. The movie is on Netflix instant, and VOD. If you're looking for a funny, thrilling sad, heartwarming good time definitely check out In Bruges.