Entertaining dark comedy ; Farrell & Gleeson at the top of their games; great work by McDonagh - sleeper of the year!

Rating: 9/10 (20 March 2008)

IN BRUGES (2008) ***1/2 Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes, Clemence Poesy, Jordan Prentice, Eric Godon, Zlejko Ivanek, Anna Madeley, Elizabeth Berrington, Thekla Reuten, Peter Dinklage, Ciaran Hinds. Entertaining comedy/drama about two British hit men (Farrell and Gleeson, both at the top of their games in career high turns), sent abroad to Bruges, Belgium by their ruthless boss (Fiennes having a nasty field day and a kissing cousin to Ben Kingsley's vulgarian of "SexyBeast") after a botched killing with Farrell's outspoken, plain-minded shooter hating every moment in the picaresque town. Gleefully funny, un-PC and surprisingly violent in the third act, novice filmmaker martin McDonagh makes an extraordinary debut in one of the year's best sleeper.