Most underrated movie of 2008

Rating: 10/10 (20 March 2010)

Whenever one of my friends comes over for a movie night, I always desperately try to elbow this movie into our play list. Generally, the consensus of this film is that it will be a boring British film. I mean how could a British film be exciting with Brendan Gleeson and Ralph Fiennes set in a small Belgian town? What my friends soon realize is that this movie is completely off the wall! It masterfully balances comedy, violence and drama. There are so many laugh out loud scenes that if I tried to describe all of them I would explain the entire film, suffice to say by the end my throat was sore from laughing so god damned much. The characters are amazingly well realized especially Ralph Fiennes, who provides an amazing performance. Also people who say that Colin Farrel is a poor actor will retract those comments after seeing this film. An absolutely peerless movie that has the best to offer from three genres that generally don't mix well. My one complaint is that some scenes are not for the squeamish and a bit unnecessary (if you've seen the film you will immediately know what I'm talking about.