Enjoyable and funny but never loosing focus in both its narrative and study, In Bruges hits most marks rather impressively.

Rating: 7/10 (14 February 2009)

What a neat, compact and thoroughly entertaining little package In Bruges actually is - a film that never takes itself too seriously, but will have you feeling some sort of slap of emotion if you've gone with it by the time the finale has arrived. The film is an extremely black comic piece, relying on jokes and humour that targets specific ethnicities and 'types' of people but at the same time includes the necessary substance through slyly introducing events and flashbacks, confirming why certain characters carry certain hate ridden and confused opinions on their surroundings. The film is encouraging in another sense; a British director running on British fuelled money directing a debut piece he also wrote and quite clearly using other British co-writers/directors from recent times as a source of inspiration.
The sources for this inspiration range from Guy Ritichie to Simon Pegg with an essence of Jonathan Glazer's 2000 gangster outing Sexy Beast thrown in for good measure and it all pulls through rather nicely. Interestingly, fellow writer/director Martin McDonagh pays tribute, not necessarily directly to these people but certainly acknowledges he's updating and referencing, very early on when one of the lead characters stumbles across a film set. Here, he meets a young Belgian female production assistant and she exclaims that 'what we're doing here is an homage; a pastiche is too strong-a word for the project'. The lead's confused reaction might well be the same for some audience members but the girl has nailed it and McDonagh has nailed it in his own screenplay.
It is a homage; maybe pastiche IS too strong-a word but it is poignant this exchange happens on a film set. McDonagh has cleverly brandished his two leads Irish, making it particularly difficult to label them British gangsters of sorts but you know exactly where he's coming from. In Bruges sees two Irish hit men hiding out in the Belgian city of Bruges following a botched job. Their orders are to wait for a phone call from English mafia boss Harry (Fiennes) as he assesses the situation but Harry has a dilemma and when he does call, his intentions are far more menacing. But that would be spoiling the fun. The two leads are Ken (Gleeson) and Ray (Farrell) and their initial time spent there has the film crack its best jokes that are particularly un-PC but also sees the script establish several complex emotional pieces of substance to back up the content. It appears Ray is having a bit of a break down and thus resorts to verbal insults and discrimination as well as adopting a relatively childlike persona, best highlighted at his glee at the sight of dwarfs, beer and his bemoaning at the sights of historical buildings.
Since we do not get to know Ray prior to his 'tragedy', we cannot compare mentalities before/after. Ken seems to have known Ray for a certain amount of time and acts as a foil to Ray once all the bickering in Bruges begins. The important thing here is that Ken actually replies to Ray's bickering so all the complaining and un-PC comments Ray says in Belgium probably does not reflect the kind of person he really is. If he'd been like this even 'before' the event, perhaps Ken would've got sick of always snapping back and might've let Ray just get on with it. If Ray is an assassin, we expect a certain degree of professionalism from him but what we get is a spoilt child performance conflicting archetypes. He is, indeed, referred to as 'the boy' by characters later on.
Ray's badgering sees him insult the Belgians, fat people, autistic people and dwarfs but this sort of neurotic behaviour is confirmed when it becomes apparent Ray's suffering an identity crisis and is branching off into a mindset of guilt and suicidal ideation, hence his too sharp-a tongue and insults. For a long time, we share Ken's viewpoint. We are disgusted at Ray's dialogue and we get to hear first hand of the revelation Harry calls up with. But the perspective begins to shift quite brilliantly when things become apparent and emotion comes to the forefront.
Ralph Fiennes' Harry Waters is introduced brilliantly. He carries a Don Logan persona about him and the same air of menace with the constant badgering and talk of things seemingly innocent and random, only off screen down a telephone. Our first actual look at him in his England home whilst on the phone is a really tasty piece of editing. McDonagh's fast, wise talking gangsters are indebted to Guy Ritchie and his branching off into a fast paced action film that actually has its characters acknowledge the finale is nearing and that "this is the shootout" nearer the end is more a link to Hot Fuzz than anything else. Again, the film set location within the film pops up at the end and it's no coincidence this is where the fatal blows are played out.
While nobody weeps for the priest Ray killed on the job in the flashback and the fact Harry has young kids of his own which is quite alarming, the film is brutally entertaining and shot in cold, bleak and distant colours commending the psychological feelings Ray goes through. The film begins in a jovial and juvenile manner but we're hit with a brick that knocks both us and the film into focus rather than off course, which is very refreshing for a change. Fast; witty and quite humbling at times, In Bruges is a winner.