One of my rare 10s

Rating: 10/10 (15 March 2008)

The films that I find myself thinking about afterwards are of two kinds - the best and the worst. In the case of the worst I am trying to work out just why they are so bad, in the case of the best, like In Bruges, the rare 10s, they make such an impact that I cannot get them out of my head. It was only later that I realised that Martin McDonagh has, apparently, lifted his basic situation - two hit men whiling away the time waiting for instructions as to their next victim - from Harold Pinter's early one-act stage play The Dumb Waiter. However The Dumb Waiter ends when the message (the same one as in In Bruges) arrives. McDonagh then extends the scenario in quite unexpected directions, the foundations of which have been meticulously laid, sometimes by a mere throwaway line or gesture, earlier in the film. The film is full of memorable moments - dialogue, incident or characterisation - that interweave to form an indelible impression.
Some of the comments posted seem to take exception to the fact that In Bruges is difficult to categorise - that terrible compulsion of the film industry to fit every film into a "genre". This is a film that is genuinely uncategorisable. It is often very funny, sometimes poignant and touching, sometimes darkly frightening, always thought-provoking. To categorise it as, say, a "comedy-thriller" would be to seriously sell its qualities short.
There is one very good reason for the film's special elusive quality - it is very Irish. Although strictly speaking it would not count as an Irish production and Martin McDonagh was born in London, all his stage writing stems from a strong Irish sensibility and it is no accident that the two leading characters are played by Irish actors (albeit actors familiar to an American audience playing Americans!). The ability to see pathos behind humour, as well as the funny side of tragedy, is a peculiarly Irish trait.
The brilliance of the script is matched by superb performances from the two leads as well as all the supporting cast, however small the part. The only weak link (and it is a very minor criticism) is Ralph Fiennes as the boss figure who, as one other posting commented, was more convincing on the phone than in person, perhaps, as many have pointed out, because of unfavourable comparison with Ben Kingsley in Sexy Beast. Brendan Gleeson is, as always, impeccable, Colin Farrell gives his best performance since Intermission, both are subtle and totally believable. The supporting characters are so effective partly because they are very well cast, partly because they have been written with such attention to detail. Almost my favourite moment is when the hotel owner hands over a phone message from the boss, carefully typed out including all the obscenities, with a personal hand-written correction at the bottom - "I am not the receptionist...".
I am hoping that by writing the above I will be able to stop myself thinking about In Bruges, but somehow I doubt it!