“In Bruges” is a crime thriller with dark comedy elements, and stars Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, and Ralph Fiennes. It involves two hitmen arriving in Bruges, after a job that has gone wrong. They have been instructed by their boss to stay in Bruges until he contacts them. Ray (Farrell) is appalled by this, as he does not think Bruges is a remotely interesting place to be. Ken (Gleeson) is more inclined to take in the sights and absorb the history of the medieval city. As the story develops the two men interact with a variety of locals and tourists, leading to some weird and often hilarious situations. Things become darker as it becomes clear just how the job went ‘wrong’, and as their boss Harry (Fiennes) finally communicates exactly what he wants to happen.

Director and writer Martin McDonagh is also known for “Banshees of Inisherin”  and  “Three Billboards outside Ebbing Missouri” . His script is the first star of the movie. The dialogue is witty and keeps a black humour even when the situation is anything but funny. It’s often extremely inappropriate and you feel like you shouldn’t really be laughing, but you can’t help yourself. An example of this is  when Ray and Harry are having a weirdly matter of fact discussion of the logistics of their shootout, much to the bemusement of the hotel owner.  

• Ray: Harry, I’ve got an idea.
• Harry: What?
• Ray: My room faces out the canal, right? I’m going to go back to me room, jump into the canal, see if I can swim to the other side and escape.
• Harry: All right.
• Ray: If you go outside around the corner, you can shoot at me from there and try to get me. That way we’ll leave this lady and her baby out of the whole entire thing.
• Harry: You completely promise to jump into the canal? I don’t want to run out there, come back in ten minutes, and find you fucking hiding in a cupboard.
• Ray: I completely promise, Harry. I’m not going to risk having another little kid dying on me.
• Harry: So, hang on – I go outside and I go which way? Right or left?
• Ray: [upset] You go right, don’t you? You can see it from the doorway! It’s a big fucking canal!
• Harry: All right. Jesus. I only just got here, haven’t I? Okay, on the count of one, two, three, go. Okay?
• Ray: Okay.
• [long pause]
• Ray: What? Who says it?
• Harry: Well you say it.
• Marie: You people are crazy.

Coin Farrell shines as Ray, a young hitman on his first job who makes a catastrophic mistake, resulting in the death of a child. The character initially is something of a whiner, carrying on about how terrible Bruges is when they have only just arrived. Dragged around by his partner Ken to see the sights, all he does is complain endlessly about how horrible and dull it all is. What gets him interested is the discovery of a film crew, and a young woman he immediately hits on. Surprisingly she reciprocates, and they end up having a relationship through the rest of the movie. He delivers dry humour brilliantly, and also the character’s troubled nature. The scene where he breaks down about the child’s death is poignant and believable. The dual nature of the movie means the viewer feels they should not really empathise with Ray – after all, the child’s death occurs when he is murdering an adult. He is guilty. Farrell’s portrayal of the witty, occasionally charming man who is also gutted by his actions and suicidal, makes us feel for him anyway. You watch and wonder how this person came to this situation, and how he could have avoided it.

Brendan Gleeson is the older and more experienced Ken. He is perfectly happy to be in Bruges and wants to sightsee. (This gives the film a chance to use the beautiful medieval area in Bruges as a backdrop, which is well worth it.) We find out during the course of the film that Ken owes Harry a great debt, because Ken’s wife was murdered some years back and it was Harry who found the murderer and dealt with him. As far as Ken is concerned this puts him in Harry’s debt and he would do anything for Harry. On the other hand, Ken has taken a liking to Ray (in spite of his incessant complaining), and believes Ray has a chance to redeem himself and have a better life. This comes to a head when Harry orders Ken to kill Ray. Ken’s complicated feelings on both sides have him torn between his loyalty to Harry and his liking of Ray. Gleeson superbly portrays the character’s dilemma and his logical (if tragic) solution.

Ralph Fiennes gate-crashes the third act as the boss Harry. He’s a man who expects orders to be obeyed and gets extremely angry when things are not done to his wishes. Consequently when Ken tells him he’s not going to follow orders, Harry throws a tantrum that the phone he is on does not survive, and then goes to Bruges in person to sort it out. Fiennes does the larger-than-life, sweary and violent character with scenery-chewing gusto, and it’s hilarious. His anger is doled out to everyone in his vicinity, including the gun dealer he visits in Bruges to get a gun:

Harry: [to Yuri] An Uzi? I’m not from South Central Los fucking Angeles. I didn’t come here to shoot twenty black ten year olds in a drive-by. I want a normal gun for a normal person.

The character of Harry is obviously highly intelligent, which is indicated by many of the comments he makes, which are clever and witty. Fiennes switches between calm and outraged at the drop of a hat, but never in a way that comes across as unbelievable.

The point of the movie, and why I don’t think it can properly be called a black comedy, is its highly moral dilemma and the integrity espoused by various characters. Ray seems like a typical thug when we first see him. He’s rough, blunt, and very inappropriate in his treatment of the people around him. (He beats up an ‘American’ for annoying him, only to find out later that he is a Canadian. He’s not sorry about beating him up, only that he mistook his nationality.)  When we eventually find out that the death of the child is eating Ray alive to the point he wishes to take his own life, it is evident that he has some morals. He is not fussed about the priest he was ordered to kill but agonizes over the boy’s life he will never have. Ken, we learn, owes Harry everything as Harry avenged the death of Ken’s wife. Ken also likes Ray and believes he could have redemption, and a chance to make amends. These two positions war in Ken, until he decides that the only honourable action that reconciles this is to die in Ray’s place. Ken could have been a medieval knight in a past life, his perception of morality is very in keeping with their surroundings. The castle and the tower seem a fit place for Ken’s sacrifice. Harry, for all his violence, has a morality that we don’t understand til quite late in the movie, but which has driven this whole film, He has no qualms about removing people who get in his way, but as far as he is concerned you do not kill children. That’s a hard line for him, and why, even though it was an accident, he is determined Ray must die. His actions in the last few minutes of the film indicate that he is entirely sincere in this position and makes no exceptions.

 “In Bruges” is an intense, funny, very clever film. The direction, the script, the cast and a great location combine to create a fabulous and highly entertaining watch. It’s a darkly comedic crime thriller and is a must-watch.