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In Bruges (2008)

Director: Martin McDonagh

Time Out rating

Average user rating

65 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out London

‘Bruges is the best preserved medieval town in Belgium,’ reads Brendan Gleeson’s impressed Ken. ‘It’s a fucking shithole!’ fires back his new, younger room-sharer and fellow hitman-on-the-run Ray (Colin Farrell). Thus begins the running joke of ex-theatre wunderkind Martin McDonagh’s clever, savvy and enjoyable revamp of the odd-couple/gangster caper, a genre picture confident its own audience-pleasing verbal sparrings, joke-enabling moral sophistry and tongue-in-cheek classical and cinematic borrowings – from Hieronymus Bosch’s ‘Last Judgement’ to Nic Roeg’s ‘Don’t Look Now’ and every belfry, picaresque canal and famous seventeenth-century building in the ‘Venice of the North’.

Its mock-artistic thriller trappings notwithstanding, ‘In Bruges’ is basically a funny, tragicomic two-hander, with the casting of Farrell alongside Gleeson enabling a pleasing Irish inflection: culture-vulture old pro Ken and philistine loose cannon Ray are Dublin-accented, London-Irishmen with shared guilty pasts awaiting fate in the person of psychopathic boss Harry (Ralph Fiennes as an enjoyable, mumbling Mamet-ian figure with a suicidal sense of honour).

McDonagh adeptly milks the situation comedy of the mismatched pair with the clock running down – as in Edouard Molinaro’s film ‘A Pain in the Arse’ – lacing his drama with cheeky racist-dwarf jokes and dextrous set-pieces (notably an amusing face-to-face encounter out of Michael Mann’s ‘Heat’). But the film’s real pleasure lies in McDonagh’s verbal felicity – the naturalistic dialogue is a breath of fresh air – and while Farrell struggles to juggle his humorous ‘thick’ persona with romantic pathos, Gleeson excels in his role as the weary gangster pondering the possibilities for his own shot at redemption.

Author: Wally Hammond 2008-04-15 10:01:26

Time Out London Issue 1965: April 17 - 23, 2008

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User reviews of this film

Fred Fox said...

Posted on Oct 08 2009 15:06 A cut above the average ganster movie by virtue of the cast, the script, the plot and the location, in fact, because it is somuch better than most of what's out there. It will offend some people, who will then choose to criticise it rather than admit small-mindedness, plus it's not formulaic in the normal sense, instead combining odd components and forcing a fit. It works so, so well.. The evil dudes have human sides, their foul language is more funny than shocking and their violence sits well in context, seeming not to be for the sake of the audience. I laughed and grimaced and got sucked in and look forward to watching it again after a suitable interlude.

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Tony F said...

Posted on Oct 06 2009 14:43 Great film, superb black humour. I can see overweight Americans not liking it too much but don't take everything too serious. It's good fun and not afraid to tell it like it is instead of pussyfooting around.

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tony said...

Posted on Sep 23 2009 01:51 Brilliant film, dark humour, great acting, stunning setting set to haunting music. Just watched it again in Singapore with the swearing edited out - just wasn't the same!

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Dan said...

Posted on Sep 12 2009 13:05 Absolute garbage!! Boring as boring can be, stupid and illogical (a copper stops a train to arrest someone for throwing two punches, yet there's no police to be seen when two men are running round the middle of Bruges shooting at each other), and very up it's own backside. To enjoy this film you've had to lived in a bubble all your life and/or be big into Colin Farrel, because it's the ultimate in entertainment dross. Avoid like the plague!

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clairep said...

Posted on Sep 02 2009 00:58 Fab film, best I've seen in a while.. agree with the idea that it's a marmite type of film, in that you either love it or hate it it. Adored the black humour warpedness. ( and I donpt even like marmite!)

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mary said...

Posted on Jun 06 2009 22:54 what is so amusing about constant swearing and violent death? A sick and nasty film.

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Jon said...

Posted on May 17 2009 16:09 Without doubt one of the best films I have seen in a long long time. Looking at the reviews across various sites, I think it must be a marmite sort of film so the best advise I could give is simply watch it and see.
I have never rated Colin Farrell one tiny bit but he is fantastically dry and witty in this film. Some of the one liners rank up there with the ever repeating Lock, Stock and Snatch quotes.

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elizabeth said...

Posted on Apr 26 2009 17:35 Just watched this film. A complete waste of time. Absolute rubbish . Fell asleep it wasso boring.

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wilko said...

Posted on Mar 16 2009 13:21 One of the best film I've seen in ages. Gleeson positively excels, Farrell proves he can do it if he tries. Beautifully filmed great score, dodgy humour. "alcoves?" "Do you say Alcoves?" Brill.

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andy said...

Posted on Jan 01 2009 22:34 rented this peice of shit from spar... saying it a black comedy... its a hour and a half of my life i will never get bk..cheers in bruges..ruined my life... gonna go take some coke now n die...dont rent this film ANY1 5 star waste of production

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Daj said...

Posted on Nov 24 2008 20:16 I didn't expect much when I went to see this film, I've been to Brugges and picturesque though it is, its not much of a happening place. Which leads me to Farrell, I've never rated him, good looking chap but with all the acting ability of a medieval clock tower. But what little he had was extracted and laid out before us on the screen proudly and unashamedly, to the point where I thought he's not bad. As for Gleeson, himself, it is a nice change to see him in the forefront of a film, playing a part with subtleness and tenderness.
The humour, which can be profane, racist, dwarfish and violent made me laugh out loud, which surprised me.
What draws it together though is the performance of the two leads. Moving, insightful, and character driven made me laugh and shed a tear.
Oh yeah and Ralph Feinnes isn't bad either.
Overall a great film, sure to be a cult hit, I'll be spreading the word.

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Katie said...

Posted on Nov 20 2008 16:10 not a very good film at all! got bored and fell asleep... dont bother watchin!!

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Sara Jane said...

Posted on Nov 18 2008 08:53 This is possibly the worst movie EVER! They weren't funny, the scenario was rubbish, they tried to make it mysterious quirky but it was worse than a bollywoodian death movie scene.. where they just refuse to die! it wasted valuable time of my life. HATE IT!

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Boxy said...

Posted on Sep 06 2008 15:01 Best film of the year.... easily. Maybe this century? It first uses our familiarity with the crudeness of Gordon Ramsey, but that is only the f**king start of it. This has to go down as one of the best black comedic films of all time. But then add the moral redemption elements, parallels to the classic Don't Look Now and things start to get interesting. Colin Farrell... wow!... that tear! Every single moment is joyous, tragic and full of weight. Another example of what only Europe can bring to feel.

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Michael said...

Posted on Aug 31 2008 19:08 A wonderful dark, moody, funny, exploration of the relationship between these two "hard" men. Layer after layer of visual treats along with the distinctly Irish wit makes this a very rich tapestry indeed. The score is very evocative and moody. the use of Raglan Road in the bell tower was quite spectacular, granted it was an insider thing but spectacular none the less. This movie is destined for cult status. One word of warning though you really need some depth of soul to appreciate the nuances laid out for your delectation, a pop movie it is not.

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