Verdict:
The description said “comedy” and who isn’t on board for a comedy with Collin Farrel. In Bruges is an interesting production indeed, but it sure isn’t a comedy. A layer of humour only covers this slow-paced grungy drama that plays out in the cold grey Bruges, where our troubled characters are stuck with one another, processing their issues.
The film successfully manages to turn an otherwise slow and uneventful plot into an interesting and, in today’s world of formulaic recycling, refreshing play. Its little gloomy quirks and twists make it a memorable film, but don’t expect an action movie or lots of laughs, as it is not that kind of movie. It feels more like a stage play.
The movie is carried by Ralph Fiennes, Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell. Collin’s character combines despair, resulting from the position he finds himself in, with a humoristic childlike perception of the events around him. He is erratic, sometimes going through several facial expressions in a matter of seconds. Brendan Gleeson gives a much more subtle and realistic performance. He serves as contrast to Collin Farrell’s character, both in terms of his outlook on life and physical appearance, but at the same time, the two have good chemistry together. You sometimes forget that these people are hitmen.
In fact, I wish the movie had removed the hitman component altogether and had a different central premise. The main characters play hired killers. It would’ve been far easier to empathize with them if they weren’t murderers by trade. You’re supposed to feel bad for the young inexperienced Ray played by Collin Farrell, who botched his job and now feels guilty about it, but even if you ignore the botched job, he is still a murderer. Hitmen are psychos. There are no charming lovable serial killers, but that’s what the audience is being sold. Ralph Fiennes’s character functions as the looming danger hanging over the heads of the other 2 characters and creates the necessary tension and urgency, but this danger could’ve just as well been provided by some police detective. The action scenes are so few that they could’ve been removed or replaced, without the movie losing much.
The film is filled with awkward violence that comes suddenly and goes away just as quickly. The up-close emotional awkwardness and drama make this a quirky movie with a very specific type of mood that’s not really for me. But the performances are undeniably yummy. Fienne’s and Gleeson’s characters have one of the best exchanges I’ve seen on screen. In Bruges is a cute local little drama.