In Bruges begins with a voiceover by Ray (Colin Farrell), a hitman whose boss has asked him to hide out in quaint tourist-friendly Bruges, Belgium. His previous job went all kinds of wrong. He is to await further instructions there. Ray's partner Ken (Brendan Gleeson) dutifully takes in the art and the sightseeing and Ray, lost in his as yet undefined remorse grumbles and whines about their "vacation".
After a couple of reels of film, the reason for Ray's grief is made clear in flashback. And Ray, while looking at art with Ken, starts asking him theological questions. They wander to a park bench discussing violence and consequence which initally prompts amusing banter about when a murder is self defense or not. Ken once killed a lollipop man who was merely trying to save his brother (who he was there to kill). He feels bad about the act still but the man had come at him with a bottle. Ray, always eager for distractions from his own remorse, argues that Ken was justified. If it he had attacked him with only bare hands, say, the murder would have been uncalled for.Ken: Well, technically your bare hands can kill somebody, too. They can be deadly weapons too. What if he knew karate, say?As happens so often in the movie, Ray's face starts to sour again as the weight of his guilt crushes him all over again. (Farrell is truly expressive in this role) The tone shifts quickly from comedy to drama, the mood of In Bruges falling as rapidly as each new shower of remorse.
Ray: You said he was a lollipop man.
Ken: He was a lollipop man.
Ray: What's a lollipop man doing knowing fucking karate? How old was he?
Ken: I'm just saying... Fifty.
Ray: What's a 50 year old lollipop man doing knowing fucking karate?! Was he a Chinese lollipop man? Jesus Ken. I'm trying to talk about...
[long pause]
Ken: I know what you're trying to talk about.
Ray: I killed a little boy. You keep bringing up a fucking lollipop man."Don't even think like that" is his partners response. The most unexpectantly poignant thing about In Bruges is the way the film weaves in the details of this friendship between two killers. [What is the cinema's fascination with hitmen about exactly? A topic for another time.] Ray's paternal instincts and aged matter-of-fact demeanor are continually rubbing up against Ray's restless immaturity and loss of innocence to both comedic and dramatic effect. Ken merely wants Ray to be happy and live a good life. Even if he needs to find a new line of work. It's as simple and paternal as that.
I know I didn't mean to but because of the choices I made and the course that I put into action a little boy isn't here anymore. And he'll never be here again. I mean here in the world, not here in Belgium. But he'll never be here in Belgium either, will he? I mean he might have wanted to come here when he got older. I don't know why.And that's all because of me. He's dead because of me. And I'm trying to --I'm trying to get me head around it but I can't. I will always have killed that little boy. That ain't ever going away. Ever.
Unless... maybe I go away.
In Bruges is wonderfully written by Martin McDonaugh and though it's his first feature length film, he seems pretty confident behind the camera too. This hitmen in hiding tale has got some neat plotting as well as some predictable beats that still manage to surprise. Those are the best kind of twists... the kind that make all kinds of sense, the kind where, even if you saw them coming... they didn't arrive in quite the way you expected. So, add this one to your rental queues if you haven't yet seen it. The quality of the writing shouldn't be a surprise to those familiar with Martin McDonaugh's plays (The Pillow Man and The Lieutenant of Inishmore among them) or his Oscar winning short (Six Shooter). If there's any justice in the world In Bruges will at least be talked up for Best Original Screenplay nominations when the year winds down. Not that there's any justice in the world...
