Hilarious, great plot and great performances all round

Rating: 9/10 (29 September 2017)

In Bruges is a great comedy film that is peppered with true emotional scenes and great one-liners. I really enjoyed watching this film as it gave me a real laugh and also really made me emotionally invest in all the characters especially Ray and Ken.
The way this film made me feel is very much down to the writing which is all the work of Martin McDonagh. It is a shame he doesn't do more films as he knows how to write a great script. I implore you to watch this and then watch Seven Psychopaths as they are both masterclasses on how to write an engaging plot with great character development.
The plot then centres around two assassins, Ray and Ken, who go to Bruges after a hit goes wrong. There they take in the sights and await further instructions. All hell breaks when Ken is asked to kill Ray. I will not ruin anything else for you dear reader I will just say that things develop quite well and the pacing is solid.
Some of the best scenes in this film are just of Ray and Ken talking to each other and the banter they have. Colin Farrell is excellent in this film and plays Ray really well. There are scenes where he goes from joking with Ken straight into crying about bad things he has done. These scenes show off the talent he has as an actor and really gets you invested in Ray and the tortured soul he is. I always say a mark of a good actor is if he can cry convincingly and Farrell does this really well.
Another great performance is Brenden Gleeson who plays Ken really well. His character is as tortured as Ray and it really shows in the performance Gleeson gives. He is more the serious type in this film whereas Ray definitely is the comic relief. That is not to say he has no funny lines, everyone in this film does, but you can tell he is the straight man.
Ralph Finnes as Harry is brilliant and his character, being the main antagonist, moves the plot a long at a reasonable pace. He has great lines like the first scene he is in the "you're an inanimate fu**ing object!!" scene which is to me one of the funniest and best put downs i've seen in a film. It's is delivered so well be Finnes that the scene really gets you invested in his character from the start and you realise that he is a well-meaning bad guy.
The actual cinematography of the film is great and gives you a real sense of Bruges as a place and setting. In fact the way it is shot gives the impression that Bruges is not just a place but an actual character in the movies as well. It gives a tone of old European cities so well in fact that I might have a holiday there in the future. In a time when most Hollywood films have a boring tone it is refreshing to see good tone and cinematography.
The music in this film is not very prevalent but it really doesn't have to be. What makes this film good is the dialog and look of the film, not the music which is only in the background and not at all the main focus of any scene in the film. The music is only there to enhance certain scenes and that is all we need it to do.
The jokes are fu*king hilarious and clever in this film, honestly there are scenes in this film that had me crying with laughter. The American tourist joke with the stairs is genius and a great bit of social commentary on fat annoying American tourists and their stereotypical mannerisms whilst abroad. The best thing is that while these funny scenes and jokes are very entertaining they do not distract from any characters development. The jokes enhance the characters, for example Ray is a funny character with some great comedic lines but it doesn't take away from the fact that he has done wrong in his life and you as the audience feel his repentance at all the bad things he has done.
This film is just brilliant and well worth a watch it goes without saying. However the main thing that I found a problem with, and it is a little problem, is the lack of effort the supporting cast gives. The midget was not a very well rounded character and Chloe was not very inspiring as the "lead female" character. In fact the pregnant woman who owns the hotel was better, acting wise, than her.
I think this film is brilliant with a great cast, for the most part, and a great story that is told in a clearly presented way. The plot and characters make it so much more emotional that it becomes more than a comedy film. I can't say enough good words about the script and I really do look forward to 2018s Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri which is the next film Martin McDonagh has written. I would advise you to watch any film he has done as you will be entertained.