Review of In Bruges (2008) by Chads. — 16 Mar 2008
A hitman might not be the keenest judge of character. Congenial or not, Ken(Brendan Gleeson) is a sociopath. The company he keeps are other hitmen, like Ray(Colin Farrell), Ken's charge, who just recently shot a Catholic preist.
But there was an accident. There was collateral damage. For all the un-PC humor in "In Bruges", perhaps the funniest thing about this lively film is the tacit agreement between filmmaker and audience that the dead clergyman be forgotten.
We're judging Ray solely on how he reacts to the second body. "In Bruges" cons the audience into feeling sorry for a man who had recently shot a man of God in cold blood. If there is such a thing as honor among hitmen, Ray is no hitman(as Ken pointed out), because he has no honor, which precludes his occupation and the occupational hazards that go with it.
Ken was wrong about Ray. He withholds a key tidbit of information from Harry(Ralph Fiennes) at the end of "In Bruges" which would've brought honor to his mentor(Ken). Like samurai, Harry lives and dies by the code.
Earlier, when Ray points the gun to his own head, he was probably only bluffing.
This review of In Bruges (2008) was written by Chads. on 16 Mar 2008.
In Bruges has generally received very positive reviews.
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