In Bruges
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| In Bruges | |
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 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | Martin McDonagh |
| Produced by | Graham Broadbent Peter Czernin |
| Written by | Martin McDonagh |
| Starring | Colin Farrell Brendan Gleeson Ralph Fiennes |
| Music by | Carter Burwell |
| Cinematography | Eigil Bryld |
| Editing by | Jon Gregory Ian Seymour |
| Distributed by | Focus Features |
| Release date(s) | January 17, 2008 |
| Country | Ireland, United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
In Bruges is a film directed and written by Martin McDonagh. The film stars Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson as hitmen in hiding, with Ralph Fiennes as their gangster boss. The film takes place within the Belgian city of Bruges.
In Bruges was the opening night film of the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.[1] The film opened in limited release in the United States on February 8, 2008; premiered at the Dublin Film Festival on February 15, 2008; later went on full release in Ireland on March 7, 2008; and opened April 18, 2008 in the United Kingdom.
The film was rated R by the MPAA for strong bloody violence, pervasive language, and some drug use.
The film contains many references to Don't Look Now[citation needed], including the claim by Chloë, one of the film's characters, that the film-within-a-film is a pastiche of Don't Look Now. The plot also has remarkable similarities to Harold Pinter's The Dumb Waiter.
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[edit] Plot
Following a botched hit in London, Irish contract killers Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson) are sent to the quaint Belgian city of Bruges and told to wait for further instructions from their employer, Harry (Ralph Fiennes). While Ken takes in the sights and historic medieval buildings, Ray is morose and withdrawn, disgruntled with the lack of local nightlife and wracked with guilt over his accidental murder of a child. One night, while observing a film shoot with the dwarf actor Jimmy (Jordan Prentice), Ray strikes up a romance with Chloë (Clémence Poésy), a local drug dealer and thief moonlighting as a production assistant.
Despite his budding romance with Chloë, Ray's guilt over his murder of a child haunts him at every waking moment. Ken finally receives a call from Harry, who orders him to kill Ray on the principle that the killing of a child – even accidentally – is beyond the pale. Ken retrieves a pistol from Harry's local contact and tracks Ray to a park. As Ken approaches Ray from behind to kill him, he sees Ray is about to shoot himself – and stops him. Bewildered at each other's motives, Ken disarms Ray and convinces him to avoid suicide, putting him on a train out of Bruges. Following Ray's departure, Ken calls Harry, reveals his insubordination and location, and abruptly hangs up. In London, an enraged Harry says goodbye to his wife and children, and heads to Bruges alone, where he visits his contact for a weapon.
Before Ray's train has travelled far from the town, he is arrested by local police for his assault on a Canadian couple the previous evening. He is returned to Bruges. Ken meets Harry for a drink before ascending the steps of Bruges' landmark belfry, where Ken offers his life in exchange for Ray's, declaring that Ray deserves a chance at redemption. Despite Ken's unapologetic offense, Harry refuses to kill him, choosing instead to wound Ken. Meanwhile, Ray has been bailed out of jail by Chloë, and the two share a drink on the market square beneath the belfry. As he discovers that Ray is back in Bruges, Harry turns on Ken and shoots him in the neck. Harry descends the steps to confront Ray, leaving Ken to die. Ken, mortally wounded, climbs back to the top of the carillon tower and leaps off, impacting against the plaza but with enough life left to warn Ray of Harry's arrival.
Ray sees Ken's fall, approaches and recognizes him, and then flees after seeing Harry, who has climbed down the stairs of the tower. He goes to the hotel and finds a gun that Ken had left. Harry finds the hotel and enters, but the pregnant wife of the owner of the hotel does not let him go upstairs to Ray's room. After a short conversation, both men agree that Ray will try to flee from the back of the hotel, and Harry will run after him and shoot him if he can. Ray jumps on a boat passing by, and Harry shoots him from a distance. Harry pursues the now wounded Ray through the streets before stumbling onto the film set, where Harry shoots Ray another 3-4 times, in the process inadvertently killing Jimmy. Mistaking Jimmy's decapitated body for that of a child, Harry shoots and kills himself, on principle. A gravely wounded Ray is lifted onto an ambulance where, surrounded by the townspeople, he loses consciousness.
[edit] Critical reception
The film received generally favourable reviews from critics. As of May 24, 2008 the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 79% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 122 reviews.[2] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 67 out of 100, based on 28 reviews.[3] Some people feel that the culture of Bruges (Brugge in Dutch) was inaccurately portrayed, as most locals are played by French or Wallonian actors. This is an especially delicate situation because of Bruges' historic role in the Battle of the Golden Spurs, which is a landmark in the development of Flemish political independence and is remembered every year in Flanders as the Day of the Flemish Community, an official holiday. [4] Chicago Sun Times film critic Roger Ebert gave the film high praise and a 4 out of 4 star rating, saying, "This film debut by the theater writer and director Martin McDonagh is an endlessly surprising, very dark, human comedy, with a plot that cannot be foreseen but only relished."
[edit] Cast
- Colin Farrell as Ray
- Brendan Gleeson as Ken
- Ralph Fiennes as Harry
- Clémence Poésy as Chloë
- Jordan Prentice as Jimmy
- Thekla Reuten as Marie
- Ciaran Hinds as the priest (uncredited)
[edit] References
- ^ World premiere of Martin MacDonagh's In Bruges to open 2008 Sundance Film Festival (2007-11-19). Retrieved on 2008-01-18.
- ^ In Bruges - Movie Reviews, Trailers, Pictures - Rotten Tomatoes. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved on 2008-02-08.
- ^ In Bruges (2008): Reviews. Metacritic. Retrieved on 2008-02-08.
- ^ Battle of the Golden Spurs. Wikipedia. Retrieved on 2008-02-14.
[edit] External links
- In Bruges at the Internet Movie Database
- In Bruges at Rotten Tomatoes
- In Bruges at Metacritic
- In Bruges at Box Office Mojo
- In Bruges at Allmovie
- In Bruges Profile on MySpace
- Trailer at Alliance Films
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