Paddy power...

Rating: 9/10 (26 April 2008)

Having bagged the Oscar for best short film four years back with his dark humoured thriller Six Shooter, London born director Martin McDonagh steps up to the big screen with this: In Bruges; an incisive and bloody fierce laugh-out-loud revamp of his 27 minute short debut.
Starring an inform Collin Farrell, In Bruges is set...well...in Bruges: a tucked-away Belgian town that's both easy-on-the-eye and peaceful. Until now. Hired Irish hit men Ray (Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson) have been sent to the small medieval town following a botched job where they're to keep their heads low and wait for word from Harry (Ralph Fiennes). But why Belgium? And why the hell Bruges?
While waiting for Harry's instructions, Ray and Ken encounter more than their fair share of problems and misfits, prostitutes and elephants, Canadians, thieves, gunmen, xenophobes and racist midgets. Their overseas waiting game soon becomes one laden with toe-curling hilarity yet mystery, anguish and philosophy as the two hired guns share a few home truths regarding the nature of their so-called profession, the blood of Christ, the beauty of Bruge, lollipop men who know kung-fu and the unfolding events of recent times that have led them to this shat- hole.
When Ray's not p*ssed, he's p*ssed off. With every one and everything. He's a bearded, doughy, chauvinistic paddy who rarely passes up a chance to make a harsh yet hilarious example of society's minorities while keeping his middle finger held high and firm in the face of political correctness. "I believe that the balance shall tip in the favour of culture, like a big fat fcuking retarded fcuking a black girl on a see- saw with a midget on the other fcuking end."
Lamping two Yanks in the name of the Vietnamese and John Lennon won't sit too pretty with many neither, nor will the four or five dozen uses of the dreaded c-word. But the sheer vigour, acid-tongued brilliance of McDonagh's dialogue is channelled so effectively through Farrell that it not only makes for a genuinely believable and, somehow, likable character, but also the Irishman's best performance in years. The role of Ray fits him like a glove and will go a long way to re-establishing his faded reputation in eyes of many. Gleeson is also superb. Chipping in with a solid, father-like supporting role, the experienced screen vet' gives a performance of a dead beat bloke in whom regret, honour and an estranged sense of decency suffer a series of head on collisions. Then there's Ralph Fiennes; the intense and steely-eyed method actor who's pure and utter dynamite as the scornful, dirty Harry. His turn ushers in the bloody final third of McDonagh's medieval morality-play.
His multi-layered plot remains unwavering and steady throughout featuring just enough well placed hooks to keep audiences interested. The sheer weight and wit of McDonagh's smartly scripted dialogue is what gives Bruges its muscle, though. Rarely does it cease to entertain or amuse, shock or transgress. It's both rare in style and scandalous in content. You know full-well you shouldn't conform to the shallowness of the humour. You know you shouldn't laugh. But you do anyway.
Violent, vicious, bloody funny, brilliantly executed and surprisingly touching: In Bruges is as fine a film you're likely to see this side of Pulp Fiction. It's a merciless, pin-sharp feature from the big screen débutant with a big heart that barks like a p*ssed paddy on st. Patrick's day and bites like a Reservoir Dog set loose in Bruges.