When in Bruges
After a hit went wrong and Ray (Colin Farrell - Miami Vice) killed a young boy by accident he is sent along with seasoned hit man Ken (Brendan Gleeson - Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix) to Bruges, Belgium to lay low and clear their heads. For Ken the beauty of Bruges is wonderful and he finds himself deeply appreciating the ancient city, not that Ray enjoys it there and thinks it is a shit-hole. That is until one night they come across a movie being shot involving a midget in a dream sequence and Ray tries to chat up assistant Chloe (Clémence Poésy). When eventually their boss Harry (Ralph Fiennes) rings to tell them what needs to be done it causes big problems for the friends.
"In Bruges" didn't do it for me, I was not blown away by this movie like some people are but it was a lot of good fun. The double act of Ray and Ken provides us with so much humour as Ken can't but help be impressed by the city whilst Ray can't see the point of doing the tourist thing. Now a lot of this humour comes from frequent dropping of the F-bomb but it is funny use of profanity rather than profanity just for the sake of it. It brings out the humour in the comical conflict between Ray and Ken which for the first two thirds of the movie is what it is all about.
There is also the little matter of Bruges which looks a fantastic city lush with old architecture. But unlike some movies which take us to a picturesque European city "In Bruges" never feels like a travelogue thanks to Ray and Ken being central to pretty much every one of the scenes. It means that a scene maybe capturing the beauty of a building only to then be punctuated by Ray can't see the point of climbing to the top of a tower where the stairs are thin and winding, which gives us a cracker of a scene featuring some obese American tourists.
But whilst this is all a lot of fun and put a smile on my face as does the fact the movie keeps you in the dark as to where it is going it strangely didn't do it for me. Maybe it was down to the fact that I enjoy movies which manage to give you an inkling of where it is going or that for me the ending felt out of place against the first two thirds. What ever it is something about "In Bruges" kept me feeling a little disappointed despite both Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson delivering entertaining performances
What this all boils down to is that if you enjoy movies which use swearing as part of the comedy then "In Bruges" is going to amuse as will the dark humour which punctuates it. But for me it just lacked that something extra to make it more than just a good movie which I enjoyed but feel no need to watch again.
