'In Bruges' takes its time, but when it gets there, the payoff is beyond expectations

Rating: 8/10 (14 August 2012)

'In Bruges' is the unlikely comedic drama that centers around two hit-men arriving in Bruges, Belgium. One hit-man, Ray (Farrell), is more for the party places and having a good time which means he isn't enjoying his time in Bruges. The other, Ken (Gleeson), really enjoys Bruges, and urges Ray to follow their bosses orders and lay low until they're told otherwise. But the story doesn't exactly kick into gear until Harry (Fiennes) comes to town. And explaining why he kicks it into gear would be giving too much away.
So if you know me, you know that I'm not the biggest Colin Farrell fan. He hasn't impressed me, until now. He was very surprising. At first, I thought he was doing his typical Farrell thing, where he looks completely out of place regardless of where he is. But after 20 seconds, I really thought he did his job well. Not only did I enjoy his performance, but I am now looking forward to his performance in 'Seven Psychopaths'. As for the other leads in this movie, Gleeson and Fiennes, they both killed it for me. This makes me want to see 'The Guard' just for Gleeson's performance. And Fiennes, as always, just knocks every single line out of the park. Even in the simplest of dialogue, he made it seem so much more real. The man can act.
And the one thing I had heard more than anything, was how surprisingly funny it is. And it kind of was, I mean I wasn't nearly peeing my pants or anything, but it was funny at times. But that totally blinded me for what I found even more surprising: the drama. These characters, Ray especially, were really deep and you could even sympathize with him. I found myself nearly cheering for the characters. There were also a surprising amount of moments where it was borderline sad. That was one thing I wasn't expecting from this kind of film, which means that when it pulled it off, it takes it up a couple of pegs.
And yes, as you can see from the headline, I wasn't "in love" with this movie for the first 30-45. That's the time where it's just Gleeson and Farrell sight-seeing. There was some witty dialogue, but I thought that it would kick it into gear a little faster. I know it had to set up both its characters and story lines, but I can't help but complain that it was too slow in the early going of the movie. There were even some things that had nothing to do with the story at all. Farrell's love interest, despite being extremely hot, had no real point of being there. There was also the weird 2 minute spark between Gleeson and the co-owner of the hotel.
But before you think that I didn't enjoy this movie, allow to talk about the last hour or so. I can't talk specifics because that would give too much away for a film that really relies on being able to take the story anywhere. But to give you a taste, this is where Fiennes finally appears (despite being mentioned and hearing his voice, he doesn't appear until the latter part). And as I said before, Fiennes really does knock it out of the park, which helps the second half of the film immensely. The intensity is pumped up, the real conflict isn't actually apparent until pretty late in the movie. But it all works and the film delivers one of the greatest third acts I've ever seen in a movie.
Knowing that Martin McDonagh was playwrite before this big screen debut makes sense now, because there were parts where I thought, Man this feels like a play. But in conclusion, 'In Bruges' is a promising good time with a surprising amount of heartfelt moments. You won't be disappointed with this debut. {B+}