In Bruges is a film that stars Colin Ferrell, Brendan Gleeson, and Ralph Fiennes. Ferrell and Gleeson play the roles of two hit men that screw up a job, forcing their boss (Fiennes) to tell them to lay low in the titular city. However, staying off the radar provides to be hard for the two, as Ray, after falling in love with Chloe (Clemence Poesy), a drug dealer, gets into hot water with the authorities after assaulting a couple. In Bruges is reality a very dense type of comedy that forces individuals to actually consider the ramifications of what the two hit men have done and see whether it really is a good thing to pity and identify with them, even if they are treated in a poor fashion by Harry (Fiennes). Where the greatest amount of anger held by Harry comes from is the shooting of a child by Ray, and the irony of Harry’s death – killing eirself after believing that ey had killed a child – will elicit a sense of schadenfreude by anyone that is watching in.
The twists and turns that In Bruges takes ensures that viewers will be on the edge of their seats, instead of being like so many other hit man/mobster movies and plodding through to the end with the same tired premises and archetypal characters. The fact that Ray – the individual that committed the darkest of sins – maintains living through the film where the two other major players die gives viewers of a number of differing messages. First off, viewers can take Ray’s living as a sense that repentance saves, or they may just see this fact as showcasing the idiom that life is not fair.
The bonus content that is present on this DVD is simply stellar, giving viewers different bits and pieces that run the gamut from funny (a gag reel) to informative (the featurette “Strange Brugesâ€, which shows how the history of the city plays into the overall tone of the film), and even eye-poppingly scenic (“A Boat Trip Around Brugesâ€). Martin McDonagh’s second foray into feature film – after 2006’s Six Shooter – is a film that should be on any serious purveyor’s of film to-watch list. Pick up the DVD, give yourself a good context through viewing the bonus features, and sit down to watch a stunning piece of cinema that maintains a serious tone even with comedic elements thrown in.
Rating: 8.0/10
In Bruges (DVD) / 2008 Universal / 107 Minutes / http://www.universalstudios.com /