Fletch's Film Review: In Bruges

Two London-based hitmen head out to do a job. Something goes awry. Their penance? Spend two weeks in Bruges (Belgium), lay low, and await further instruction. Sounds simple enough, right?

Not so fast. As it turns out, Ray (Colin Farrell) is not too fond of quaint, sleepy towns lacking in an adequate nightlife (or day life, one could suppose). So there's one problem. Meanwhile, his partner Ken (Brendan Gleeson) is quite taken with the Belgian hamlet famous for its historic, medieval city center, complete with an impressive bell tower and the Church of the Holy Blood, which is said to have a vial of blood from none other than Jesus himself. And while their tastes for tourist activities may differ, that pales in comparison to the wants and needs of their boss Harry (Ralph Fiennes), who just insists that the two not make a peep and sit tight until he calls, and should they miss his call...well, that's a whole other story. Let's just say Harry's a bit of an "'orrible c*nt," to use their slang. Matters are muddied even further by the details of the hit gone wrong back in London, which has left Ray somewhat of a mess, with Ken left to clean up after him.

Did I mention this is a comedy?

In truth, the film somewhat defies the comedy label, bouncing around from the buddy comedy stylings of something like Hot Fuzz (with which it shares a similar plot line of high crime in a sleepy town) to drama to action; more than anything, the mood reminded me of Grosse Pointe Blank, with hit men doubting their chosen profession while having no problems engaging in blunt honesty when confronted with said profession - just don't expect a hip 80s alt soundtrack.

Though the somewhat schizophrenic mood may throw you off kilter a bit, the acting won't, led by a strong Farrell (playing vulnerable in consecutive roles now after Cassandra's Dream; part of me thinks he is a much more comfortable and capable actor when he's allowed he speak with his native accent) and Fiennes, who gets to ham it up a bit as an ice-cold villain who's still every bit as refined as the Queen (and whose home life could be mistaken for any old schlub). In addition, the writing delivers the audience diversions after twists after diversions that all tidily tie up into the winning finale, a must have for any genre pic these days it seems.

Fletch's Film Rating:

"Darn tootin!"