Starring: Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes.Director: Martin McDonagh
Format: Currently on release in cinemas since 18/04/2008
Certificate: 18 (VERY Strong Language and Strong Violence)
I ought to mention straight off the bat that if this review were to have a tabloid style headline, it would be something like "COLIN FARRELL IN GOOD ACTING PERFORMANCE SHOCKER". My sincere apologies to all Colin fans out there, but personally, I'm not a big fan. He's tolerable in some things; Minority Report (where he puts on a very convincing American accent), Phone Booth (hardly the stuff of the RSC but a perfectly functional performance), but frankly awful in other things (Daredevil anybody?.. no, thought not). Imagine my surprise then dear readers when I sat down with the missus to watch In Bruges, only to find that the guy is actually a pretty decent actor.
Farrell plays hitman Ray, who, along with his friend and fellow assassin Ken (the brilliant Brendan Gleeson), are sent to the beautiful Belgian town of Bruges by their boss Harry (Ralph Fiennes) following a job that goes horribly wrong. Their instructions are simple; hang out there for up to 2 weeks laying low and sightseeing and await a call from Harry who will inform them of what to do next. Ray is less than enthusiastic at the prospect of hanging out in "F*****' Bruges" (his words not mine), whilst Ken relishes the prospect of spending time in a picturesque town with so much history in it. Whilst awaiting the call from Harry, Ray and Ken wax lyrical about life and death, particularly in the context of the botched job which plays heavily on Ray's mind. Eventually, Harry calls, revealing exactly what is to happen next. It would be remiss of me to reveal anything more than that plotwise.
In Bruges is the first feature film by director Martin McDonagh, whose previous directorial experience netted him an Academy Award for Best Short Film for the...erm... short film Six Shooter, also starring Brendan Gleeson. I've not seen it, but have read a plot synopsis of it, and boy is it dark. Well, if you like your comedy served very very black with a side order of VERY bad language garnished with a liberal amount of the red stuff, then chances are you will like In Bruges a lot. But above all these things, the thing that stands out above all else is the script. This is an extremely well-written film which despite liberal inclusion of The Worst Word in the English Language (TM) actually does have something to say about the state of the world we live in. It is clear that writer/director Martin McDonagh has a less than favourable view of the world, and indeed, whilst In Bruges is in many places laugh out loud funny, with some of the most quotable lines in recent memory ("You can't give horse tranquilisers to a midget for f**** sakes"), there is very little in the film that will leave you feeling that all is right with the world. That is not to say however, that In Bruges is a depressing experience. Far from it. As stated, there are many laugh out loud moments, and the chemistry between Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson is evident from the moment they are on screen together. Both put in excellent performances, with Brendan Gleeson for me giving the best performance of the film. Ken is an extremely world-weary character who seems too decent an individual to do what he does for a living, and Gleeson's performance is so good that he makes Ken about as likeable and sympathetic as a hitman can be.
As well as the two central performances, Ralph Fiennes also acquits himself well as Harry, who turns up in Bruges later on in the film to sort a few fings aht (that was 'sort a few things out'. sorry it's hard to write Cockney). Harry is considerably less likeable than Ken and Ray, but is himself not without hidden depths which is particularly evident at the film's climax. Indeed, there is perhaps even an argument for almost sympathising with the job he is faced with in the film and it would perhaps be somewhat inaccurate to call him the villain of the piece as such. Fiennes's performance invokes memories of Ben Kingsley's riotous turn as crime boss Don Logan in Jonathan Glazer's very enjoyable Brit crime flick Sexy Beast, although Fiennes's performance is perhaps not quite on that level. It will be seen that Harry is in many ways a bit of a stereotypical East End criminal and this may or not get on your nerves depending on your mood at the time. Personally, I quite like Ralph Fiennes so found him perfectly watchable here.
All in all, I enjoyed In Bruges immensely. The film is almost 2 hours long but felt at least half that length which has to be a good sign. Belgians or Belgiophiles may see the film as a slur on the country and perhaps understandably, but for every negative comment Farrell's Ray makes on the place, there are enough positive comments from Ken and Harry which I think balance things out and prevent the movie from being overtly offensive. If the film was called In Hyderabad (the city in India where my family all come from), and had the exact same dialogues as In Bruges had, I personally don't think I would find it too offensive.
The film is not entirely without its minus points though. Whilst I accept that bad language is part and parcel of films involving underworld characters, some of the language does verge on the gratuitous (in my opinion, almost any use of the Worst Word in the English Language TM is unnecessary). Also, the introduction of a rudimentary love interest for Farrell's Ray could for me have been trimmed a bit, but it is not entirely irrelevant to the plot and is not a major shortcoming of the film. These things aside, the performances are of a high standard, the script is dark but witty and at times laugh out loud funny, and Bruges is clearly a beautiful town and provides a lovely backdrop against which the often grim events of the film unfold. On the basis of In Bruges, writer/director Martin McDonagh could well be One to Watch for the future, and if he casts Brendan Gleeson in all future projects, that would be perfectly fine with me. Those who feel that the world is a less than wholesome place to live and raise a family in will be unlikely to have their views altered even remotely by the film, and I think that was very much the point. Nevertheless, In Bruges is by no means depressing, and the bad language and violence in no way detract from the performances and the real star of the show: the script, which is sharp, witty, hilarious and, at times even thought provoking. Highly Recommended.
Overall Mark: 8.5/10.
Farrell plays hitman Ray, who, along with his friend and fellow assassin Ken (the brilliant Brendan Gleeson), are sent to the beautiful Belgian town of Bruges by their boss Harry (Ralph Fiennes) following a job that goes horribly wrong. Their instructions are simple; hang out there for up to 2 weeks laying low and sightseeing and await a call from Harry who will inform them of what to do next. Ray is less than enthusiastic at the prospect of hanging out in "F*****' Bruges" (his words not mine), whilst Ken relishes the prospect of spending time in a picturesque town with so much history in it. Whilst awaiting the call from Harry, Ray and Ken wax lyrical about life and death, particularly in the context of the botched job which plays heavily on Ray's mind. Eventually, Harry calls, revealing exactly what is to happen next. It would be remiss of me to reveal anything more than that plotwise.
In Bruges is the first feature film by director Martin McDonagh, whose previous directorial experience netted him an Academy Award for Best Short Film for the...erm... short film Six Shooter, also starring Brendan Gleeson. I've not seen it, but have read a plot synopsis of it, and boy is it dark. Well, if you like your comedy served very very black with a side order of VERY bad language garnished with a liberal amount of the red stuff, then chances are you will like In Bruges a lot. But above all these things, the thing that stands out above all else is the script. This is an extremely well-written film which despite liberal inclusion of The Worst Word in the English Language (TM) actually does have something to say about the state of the world we live in. It is clear that writer/director Martin McDonagh has a less than favourable view of the world, and indeed, whilst In Bruges is in many places laugh out loud funny, with some of the most quotable lines in recent memory ("You can't give horse tranquilisers to a midget for f**** sakes"), there is very little in the film that will leave you feeling that all is right with the world. That is not to say however, that In Bruges is a depressing experience. Far from it. As stated, there are many laugh out loud moments, and the chemistry between Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson is evident from the moment they are on screen together. Both put in excellent performances, with Brendan Gleeson for me giving the best performance of the film. Ken is an extremely world-weary character who seems too decent an individual to do what he does for a living, and Gleeson's performance is so good that he makes Ken about as likeable and sympathetic as a hitman can be.
As well as the two central performances, Ralph Fiennes also acquits himself well as Harry, who turns up in Bruges later on in the film to sort a few fings aht (that was 'sort a few things out'. sorry it's hard to write Cockney). Harry is considerably less likeable than Ken and Ray, but is himself not without hidden depths which is particularly evident at the film's climax. Indeed, there is perhaps even an argument for almost sympathising with the job he is faced with in the film and it would perhaps be somewhat inaccurate to call him the villain of the piece as such. Fiennes's performance invokes memories of Ben Kingsley's riotous turn as crime boss Don Logan in Jonathan Glazer's very enjoyable Brit crime flick Sexy Beast, although Fiennes's performance is perhaps not quite on that level. It will be seen that Harry is in many ways a bit of a stereotypical East End criminal and this may or not get on your nerves depending on your mood at the time. Personally, I quite like Ralph Fiennes so found him perfectly watchable here.
All in all, I enjoyed In Bruges immensely. The film is almost 2 hours long but felt at least half that length which has to be a good sign. Belgians or Belgiophiles may see the film as a slur on the country and perhaps understandably, but for every negative comment Farrell's Ray makes on the place, there are enough positive comments from Ken and Harry which I think balance things out and prevent the movie from being overtly offensive. If the film was called In Hyderabad (the city in India where my family all come from), and had the exact same dialogues as In Bruges had, I personally don't think I would find it too offensive.
The film is not entirely without its minus points though. Whilst I accept that bad language is part and parcel of films involving underworld characters, some of the language does verge on the gratuitous (in my opinion, almost any use of the Worst Word in the English Language TM is unnecessary). Also, the introduction of a rudimentary love interest for Farrell's Ray could for me have been trimmed a bit, but it is not entirely irrelevant to the plot and is not a major shortcoming of the film. These things aside, the performances are of a high standard, the script is dark but witty and at times laugh out loud funny, and Bruges is clearly a beautiful town and provides a lovely backdrop against which the often grim events of the film unfold. On the basis of In Bruges, writer/director Martin McDonagh could well be One to Watch for the future, and if he casts Brendan Gleeson in all future projects, that would be perfectly fine with me. Those who feel that the world is a less than wholesome place to live and raise a family in will be unlikely to have their views altered even remotely by the film, and I think that was very much the point. Nevertheless, In Bruges is by no means depressing, and the bad language and violence in no way detract from the performances and the real star of the show: the script, which is sharp, witty, hilarious and, at times even thought provoking. Highly Recommended.
Overall Mark: 8.5/10.
No comments:
Post a Comment