Review of In Bruges (2008) by Tyler M — 31 Mar 2012

Not what I was expecting at all.

The Story: Two hitmen are sent to Bruges in order to hide out... An expected call from the boss though, results in unexpected orders, for an otherwise expected outcome.

It's kind of a character study in that there's a significant amount of time learning what makes these characters tick, the problem is, that (on first viewing at least) there's not much too the characters... Ray feels guilty for his past and spends most of the film trying to figure out if he deserves to live. Ken, mesmerized by the wonderland that is Bruges, finds himslef worried about his friend, taking it upon himself to save his partners soul. Conflicted by the moral issues that surround his current situation and job... And than there's Harry. The boss. He's a villain that you know deep down inside you can't hate because he makes a valid point, one must pay for their own actions, accidental or not. He's not evil, though he's not nice either, he's not good but he's not bad, and you're not going to be rooting for him.

The Cast: Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes...

Colin Farrell is Ray, guilt stricken by a hit gone terribly awry. He gives a good performance as he's eternally conflicted, he's not a man, but he feels deeply ashamed of himself for his past actions, so doesn't that mean that he should be forgiven? Or is he hopeless because he's done the unthinkable? Solid performance from start to finish. Brendan Gleeson is Ken, stuck between a rock and a hard place hit his partner or save his soul, giving him a second chance? Arguably the best performance in the film. Ralph Fiennes is Harry, a firm believer that some actions deserve certain consequences no matter what the circumstance. You know he has a heart and you know that on some level he is in fact right, but you're wishing he's wrong the entire time. Great performance, but not his best.

One to Five Scale: 4.

Probably the first time that a trailer has truly influenced my score... There's no disagreeing that the trailer is about as misleading as you can possibly get. The trailer has you believing that Guy Ritchie has some competition. It's fast, it's clever, it's stylish, it's funny, and it's full of quirky or offbeat characters... The film itself is slowpaced, sometimes predictable and nowhere near as complex as you're expecting, as the quirky characters often add little to nothing to the story...

I'm giving it the benifit of the doubt, I only watched it once expecting a fast paced Snatch type film, really hoping to see another Guy Ritchie on the horizon... The second time around I'm sure it will be immensly better.