Not at all bad

Rating: 7/10 (5 June 2014)

In Bruges is a British black comedy film directed by Martin McDonagh, released in 2008. It follows a pair of hit men named Ken and Ray who are hiding out in the Belgian town of Bruges after Ray accidentally murders a child during one of his jobs.
I found this film pretty entertaining throughout, it had clever, witty dialogue which conveyed both characters very well. The characters themselves are very convincing and both very 3 dimensional, the relationship between them both is presented very well as it shows their closeness and shows their emotion despite having a seemingly emotionless job. I thought the dialogue and acting was extremely credible to Farrell as he perfectly conveys Ray's fragile state of mind and presents his character differently to how you'd expect.
The story itself was pretty basic but well written and perhaps the only part of the film that let it down was the ending, which I was not fully satisfied with. I feel like it was a little unconvincing and unrealistic with there being a shootout in the middle of a film set and no one seems to take any action and prefers to carry on with their business! I think this was a bit of a silly sequence and although the fate of the characters was relatively appropriate, I still feel it wasn't authentic enough. This film was set in a beautiful location and when it isn't making you laugh or wince, it instils emotion into the viewer with its stunning soundtrack and appropriate cinematography. The cinematography was very revealing for the characters and shows off the setting of the film extremely well. It also intensifies the dialogue and importance of scenes. The editing of the narrative was quite clever and I liked how we found out what Ray had done after he sees two children walking with their parents. It was an appropriate link and therefore a good time to reveal Ray's actions.