Review of In Bruges (2008) by Letitia L — 25 Jul 2015

When I first viewed this film I had remembered the cover of the DVD which my brother owned, and I thought it would be a simple B-grade action film. I am so glad I was wrong because In Bruges is a true gem which delves into the motifs of guilt and hell/purgatory.

With the two main characters we have opposite sides of the personality - this has been said by McDonagh himself. There was a side of him which loved to sight-see (Ken) and the side that just wanted to have fun (Ray). From this we get a very cultured hit man as well as a moody young man itching to get the most out of life (drinking, meeting women, exploring).

While I love Ray for his internal struggles, he is somewhat of a hard man to like; he is brutally honest, asks people whether they would kill themselves because of certain traits, and he calls people gay or retarded. But something has happened before the start of the story that makes him question his morality in the middle of the film and whether or not he should be punished for it.

This film seems somewhat influenced by Tarantino - at least for the dialogue aspect. It is not plot-based; it touches on pop culture references and includes lingo that make the characters seem more realistic or interesting than just characters. However, the problem is that it seems to try too hard at this.

However, there are a good amount of funny conversations or situations in which the characters find themselves. Think Tarantino's dialogue meets an even darker humor, like the humor of the Coen brothers.

One plausibility factor I cannot stand, however, is that one character simply refuses to die. To avoid spoilers, I will just say he/she lives way longer than they should have, but this needs to happen to help the plot very late in the film.

The thing I love so much about this film is the ending monologue given by Ray (Colin Farrell's character), and the ambiguity behind what has happened to the character and whether this story should be considered a dark fantasy or a horrible reality. It is very enjoyable, and the themes are amazing!