In Bruges

<<

Catching Up

>>

After last week's movie, I'm so incredibly happy that I chose this title to be my next-in-line for this month. It completely made up for things, as this is much more the type of dark comedy that's up my alley - it's well-paced, and reaching with it's dark sense of humour, yet isn't without some dramatic atmosphere, good, likable characters, and a more or less original story.

We meet two hit men from London, Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson​). They have been ordered to lay low in Bruges, Belgium by their boss, Harry (Ralph Fiennes), after a hit gone bad, accidentally killing an innocent bystander. They are further advised to take in the sites of the "magical" city while they await Harry's call with further instructions.

Ken takes this advice into consideration, and manages to enjoy himself, but Ray really just doesn't want to be there and mopes about things the entire time. A lot of his attitude is the result of the recent hit; his first job gone wrong, but eventually he runs into Chloe (Clémence Poésy) who becomes the only real charm he sees in this city.

Without spoiling too much, the rest of the film develops the relationship between Ray and Chloe, develops the character of Ken, and develops Harry into one of the funniest dry-humour movie villains I've ever seen. These characters are about half the charm of the movie, while the rest of it is largely the scenery of Bruges, itself blended with how the whole story unfolds.

This one was nominated for Best Original Screenplay from Martin McDonagh. It didn't manage to win that year, losing to 'Milk', but McDonagh was also responsible for writing/directing 'Three Billboards Over Ebbing, Missouri' and 'Seven Psychopaths'. That might give you some idea of the kind of movie you're looking at here. It'll make you laugh, it'll make you think, and it'll surprise you with some of the turns it takes.

I'm not entirely sure what took me so long to see this one, as it's been highly recommended as a movie meant for me for quite some time now - In fact, pretty much since its release in '08. It was just one of those titles I avoided for no good reason, which is something I think we all do with certain titles. I'm glad I finally got around to watching it though, as my friends were all right when they said this was something I'd really enjoy.

If you haven't gotten around to seeing this one yet, I can highly recommend it. It was nominated for its screenwriting Oscar with good reason. Some of the language might be a bit dodgy for some, but bear in mind the character development in this, and you'll find yourself feeling both sides of things with pretty much everyone present. It's definitely something I can watch again, and something I feel I'd get more out of the more I saw it.

​5/5

---