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Thoughts on "In Bruges" . . .

Posted by 2 Dollar Productions Monday, February 11, 2008

Worth Full-Price, Matinee or Rental: Matinee or rental. February is generally a barren month for movies, and in that case, you could do far worse than paying to see "In Bruges" at the theater. However, the film would not lose much impact by waiting for it to hit DVD.

Will I Own It On DVD: No. I might watch it one more time if it came on cable, but that's not enough to justify purchasing it.


1) "In Bruges" is a dark comedy concerning two hitman (Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson) who are holed up in Bruges, Beligium after a botched job which results in the death of a young boy. In general, the hitman genre has been nearly throttled to death (pun intended) by now, but this film does manage to add a fresh enough take to warrant a look.

2) The film does feel rather "stagey," which makes sense because it was written and directed by Martin McDonagh, who I believe is a playwright by trade. "In Bruges" is one of those extremely self-contained movies where nearly every character introduced - no matter how big or small the role - winds up factoring in the plot later in the story. It's a credit to McDonagh that these interconnected renderings only occasionally seem too far-fetched to be believable.

3) Colin Farrell is the film's main star, and he gives a likable, if somewhat underwhelming, performance as a hitman riddled by guilt. His partner, Brendan Gleesan, works very well alongside Farrell and brings a quiet dignity to his role as the veteran gunman with a strong moral code.


4) There is a pretty damn funny scene involving Farrell, Gleeson, a dwarf, two hookers and a lot of cocaine. Then again, if you have those elements in play, it would be hard not to have an amusing story or two.


5) Despite some comic undertones, there is also a fair amount of death and a whole lot of blood during "In Bruges." In between the bloodshed, the city of Bruges itself does look like a nice destination for a quiet vacation. This is played for laughs in the film as various characters either love or loathe the town, however, it looked like a decent place to spend a relaxing weekend to me.

-BDS

13 comments

  1. you had me at "hookers".

     
  2. Jenny Says:
  3. I've completely missed this being out in the theaters. And in Seattle, we usually get everything. I may pick this up on cable.. mostly because I'm not a big Colin Farrell fan.

    But I have no problem with dwarves.

     
  4. WhatIgot - It's a pretty solid combo that's hard to resist.

    Idig - That's true, but in the spirit of honesty, there's no nudity. But there are hookers and cocaine and a dwarf talking about an impending race war.

    Anonymous Boxer - It just came out in Austin this past Friday, so you might get it yet as I read it was starting on a very limited run (and I think it's doing OK financially so far). It's good to hear that Dwarves are A-OK with you as I concur.

     
  5. Miss Ash Says:
  6. Colin Farrell...i'm sold!!

     
  7. BostonPobble Says:
  8. I'm glad to know it doesn't suck because, while Farell and Fiennes are lovely to watch (for many reasons) I'm a HUGE Brendan Gleeson fan and consider him desperately underrated as an actor (and as eye-candy, but I've got odd tastes that way.) Considering most of our in-theatre movies are chosen by a 13-year old these days, it'll probably wait until dvd. Still, I'll be happy to watch it then.

     
  9. Miss Ash - Then get yourself to the theater. Ha. It will likely be cheaper than Vegas.

    Bostonpobble - I like Gleeson as well (as an actor not a sex symbol, but we all have different likes, eh?). Fiennes was solid too. I think you'd be happy with this a quality rental given the circumstances.

     
  10. The only thing I'd seen or heard about this movie before now was a trailer. One time. It didn't look very good.

     
  11. Hermes Says:
  12. Glad I can wait for the rental or PPV. Colin Farrel is either fantastic or horrid. I've never seen his in-between. Perhaps this is a good candidate.

     
  13. Linda Says:
  14. I love Farrell and Fiennes so this one's a no brainer for me. Good to know it will work as a rental, I'll be surprised if it hits theaters around here.

     
  15. h Says:
  16. It sounds really really ghey. And aren't there enough movie-review blogs? The last good movie was Romeo is Bleeding. Life's short. It ain't worth it to watch drivel in the vain hope Hollyweird will get it's act together.

     
  17. Karen Says:
  18. I had to laugh at "veteran gunman with a strong moral code." It seems like a bit of an oxymoron doesn't it?

    It doesn't sound like my cup of tea to be honest but I'll give anything a shot once. I'll probably wait for the DVD I think.

     
  19. Native Minnow - I hadn't heard anything either until about a month ago, and then I read a few things in mags and it was featured heavily at the Sundance festival. It was a solid flick.

    Getoffmylawn - I tend to agree about Farrell, but I did like him in "Miami Vice," which is a movie a lot of people hated. He sported a pretty stylish handlebar mustache in that one.

    Linda - I like both of those actors, and I thought Fiennes would add more to his role (his not bad, but not outstanding). You'll do fine waiting for a rental if it doesn't make it.

    Troll - I'm sure there are many review blogs out there, but since I've done these things for money in the past and enjoy writing watching film and writing about them, it will continue to come up here and there. Romeo is Bleeding was a good film, and I remember liking Gary Oldman and Lena Olin (I think) in that project. Finally, Hollywood isn't any weirder than real life in my experience.

    Gypsy - Ha. You're right as I actually thought about that as I wrote the line as it's definitely a paradox. And if the plot doesn't grab you, then you'd probably do better renting something else as this one was good (not great).

     
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