Film is Pwn

Perhaps the biggest attraction of In Bruges, just out this week on DVD, is the city of Bruges itself. 

Bruges is a medieval city in Belgium, full of beauty and splendor.  As one who does not get the opportunity to travel abroad at the expense of others like my colleague, Mr. Oso, this is a real treat. 

As for the movie that carries the city’s name on its banner, I find myself somewhat conflicted.  It is admirable for its ambition, as this is not cookie-cutter Hollywood production, it is clearly the work of genuine talent both behind and in front of the camera, but yet it failed to entertain.  Let me set the scene for you:

Two Irish hitmen, Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson) are ordered to lay low in Bruges.  Ray bungled the job, killing an innocent as well as his target, which necessitated the Belgian “vacation” as well as an enormous amount of guilt and remorse on Ray’s part.   Ken is the experienced veteran, calm, cool, and collected.  Ray is new to the business, and is immature, displaying almost childlike petulance at times.  The best part of the movie is lines of dialogue such as this as our two hitmen are at a historic tower:

Ken: “Coming up?”
Ray: “What’s up there?”
Ken: “The view.”
Ray: “The view of what? The view of down here? I can see that down here.”
Ken: “Ray, you are about the worst tourist in the whole world.”

On the orders of their boss Harry (Ralph Fiennes), Ken goes sightseeing in the beautiful city and drags Ray with him.  Ray hates the city, as it has no nightlife, where Ken loves it and enjoys it for the same motivation as a tourist.  Ray starts to enjoy himself when he gets involved with a local drug dealer (the gorgeous Clemence Poesy) and a racist dwarf (Jordan Prentice) filming a movie.  If you want to see Colin Farrell karate chopping a drugged up dwarf, this film is for you.

A lot happens from there that I won’t spoil; I will say that Ralph Fiennes’ Harry comes to town and he didn’t send his two hitmen to Bruges for sightseeing.

In Bruges is a vulgar, occasionally violent dark comedy.  It is not a movie I can personally recommend.  There is an audience for this film and there certainly are reasons to love it: It’s different, it’s twisted, the performances are universally good, it’s funny, the scenery is beautiful, etc.  Film Is Pwn’s favorite film critic Roger Ebert gave In Bruges **** (four stars).  Personally, I don’t see it.

I did not love In Bruges.  The violence and vulgarity are only a small part of the equation, as is the film excessively flaunting of its lack of political correctness.  It boils down to the fact that I felt no real affection for these characters, Ken and Ray.  It is possible to make a hitman likeable (John Cusack did it successfully in Grosse Pointe Blank), but I didn’t care what happened to either of these guys.  If I’d walked away from the movie at the one-hour mark, I would have not given a second thought to Ken and Ray’s fate.  The film Glengarry Glen Ross was similarly comprised of entirely distasteful people, yet that movie struck a nerve and was impossible to turn away from or forget.  The only lasting impression from In Bruges is that I’d like to visit Bruges someday.

Personally, I’m putting In Bruges in the “TV” category, which roughly equates to ** (two stars), though depending on your personal taste it should be elevated or reduced in status thusly:

 - If you’re a fan of dark comedy or British comedy, you will get a kick out of In Bruges, so for you it’s a “Rent It.” There’s plenty of clever dialogue and Farrell, Fiennes, and especially Gleeson are all great.

- If you are NOT a fan of dark comedy or movies where the accents are so thick it’s often hard to understand the dialogue without subtitles, for you this is a “Skip It.”

 - Daniel J. Roos