Think "Pulp Fiction" but darker

Rating: 9/10 (14 December 2008)

We visited Bruge once. Its memorable and exhausting spiral staircase medieval bell tower is featured in this comic tragedy. There is even a glimpse of the rope that substitutes for a banister. Some of the action also takes place on its canals.
"In Bruge"has something of a film-noir feel, but with humor added.
The 2008 film's story about Irish hit men (Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrel) brought to mind Vincent Vega (John Travolta) and Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson) in 1994's "Pulp Fiction." But I thought "Bruge" a darker movie.
It seems more tragic, and the humor more subtle, than "Pulp Fiction." Still, the more I think of it, the more I can see similarities. For example, in both films lesser criminals make the mistake of crossing paths with them. "In Bruge" has encounters with incidental "color" characters who show up again later in ways more significant to the plot.
From other reviews I now guess the hit men are supposed to be part of a criminal gang; however, my initial impression from their skill, discipline and ethics (accidentally killing innocents is a violation of their code) was that they were an IRA cell.
I thought the movie dragged a bit in the beginning, but then picked up steam.