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In Bruges (Movie): Guest Review

By Amara B.

in_bruges_ver2Just when I was about to put Colin Farrell’s file in the drawer marked ‘no talented douchebags who were once considered attractive’ I watched In Bruges. Colin Farrell has now been upgraded to ‘attractive douchebag’ in my esteem, and he might even be talented, or at least he would appear talented if all of his film choices were as good as In Bruges.

In Bruges is a real gem of a movie if you’re like me and appreciate the darker side of humour; everyone knows that hit men are always good value for money in the humour department (think Jules and Vincent from Pulp Fiction and if you haven’t seen Pulp Fiction you really probably should, though I’m sure you’ve been told this before).

The story follows hit men Ken (Brendan Gleeson) and his protégée Ray (Farrell), who have effectively been ‘banished’ to the small town of Bruges, Belgium, by their mob-boss employer (Ralph Fiennes) after a hit gone very wrong. Ken and Ray are a wonderful comic pairing, an odd couple of sorts but not in an annoying or grating way. Ken is an interesting character, polite and pleasant to a fault but still a ruthless gun for hire; it’s impossible not to like him or his coddling ways. Ray is an equally fascinating character; Farrell’s portrayal of the guilt-ridden gun is both extremely funny and touching at the same time. The exact genre of this film is difficult to determine, which makes it all the more enjoyable, it is extremely funny if your sense of humour isn’t offended by a few (read: maybe a few more than a few) off colour and un-P.C. remarks, but it also harbours a distinct dramatic streak.

Despite the somewhat serious elements present it still succeeds in balancing its humour with themes of guilt, punishment and forgiveness and the result is a truly enjoyable film; it has real depth if you’re into that sort of thing, but it can still be appreciated as a traditional comedy of errors. The scenic route is also worth a look, pretty settings for a pretty movie about guys that kill people. It’s certainly worth a look, you might even come out of the experience with a bit of a renewed Farrell crush, or you might just appreciate it as a very neat piece of film making. For me it was a little bit of both.

Thanks Amara for writing this review while I was busy pretending to be an important journalist for the 2009 AMUNC this week.

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July 18th, 2009ReviewsRead More >1 Comment


One Response to “In Bruges (Movie): Guest Review”

  1. J.T. Oldfield Says:
    July 26th, 2009 at 11:57 am

    Hey! I gave you an award! Come see!

    http://bibliofreakblog.com/memes/kreativ-award/

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