Random Movie Review
Having seen the trailer one was led to believe that it was a movie that would be in the same Genre as say Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels or Snatch.
It was not.
The folks that put together the Trailer essentially lied and put a large chunk of the Comedy of the movie all into the Trailer. I really have no clue as to why the Studio did this when this movie could have been an Oscar contender for both Colin Farrell (Best work since Tigerland or Ballykissangel) and Brendan Gleeson (with his best work since Six Shooter or The General ) for best actor(s) and Best screen play for Martin McDonagh in his Sophomore attempt. But it was shown in February and will most likely be forgotten by the time that the event season rolls around next fall.
The local reviewers poopoo’d it as a “Gangster” film like Pulp Fiction (which again, RMN and KCFR reviewers completely missed the point of Pulp Fiction, but I digress) and after having watched the movie I can only say that Howie Movshovitz and Robert Denerstein were on crack when they watched In Bruges. Movshovitz went as far to say the film fell a part in the third act….and for me that was when I became the most engrossed in the story and the characters. But then again, if it was not made by an Italian or French director from the ‘30s to the 70s Movshovitz isn’t interested in it and I have yet to figure out Denerstein since he seems to like Michael Bay Movies and some dramas….as long as they have big studio backing.
So, the movie.
To start off with In Bruges is written and directed by Martin McDonagh who is a playwright and director by trade, so he is all about plot, character and telling a story. He uses the City of Bruges and the art of Hieronymus Bosch (who I still think managed to paint bad acid trips) as both characters and to help tell the story and define the Main Characters in the movie. The other thing that he managed to make Violence funny in a couple of scenes early on and horrifyingly tragic in all of the others….and I do mean horrifying. When the third act kicks into gear you get drawn in and those scenes are nothing but kicks in the gut.
McDonagh seems to have written In Bruges into three acts. The first act is sort of Odd Couple-ish as he builds the characters and their relationship with each other. Ken: Older, jaded, his prime was decades ago but he is good at what he does and decides to make the best of being stuck in Bruges. Ray: Young, cocky, ass…yeah you know the type. At this point there is a hint of foreshadowing of what is to come, but you are hoping that this is not the case. The comedy is dark but organic and in keeping with the characters and the situation they find themselves in.
Second act brings in the rest of the characters in the form of Jimmy the Dwarf, Chloe the Drug Dealer, and Harry, Ray and Ken’s boss back in Dublin. It is also at this point that the reason why Ken and Ray are in Bruges in the first place is shown and its impact on Ray and you start to get a stronger feeling as to why Ken is there.
Third act...all hell breaks loose (in a Bosch way). I do not want to give away too much of the film but it is both comedic and tragic in almost equal measures at this point. The comedic bits work because they seem real…like something really done of you were in that situation. On the flip side the violence is downright sad, depressing and horrifying…as it should be. The ending is not a happy one, but one that is true to the story and the characters, and it is left up to you as to what the outcome is.
So, not a gangster film by any stretch of the imagination, but a tragedy with some healthy bits of dark comedy tossed in, good story telling and character development that uses gangsters as a plot angle and the city as a way of telling a story.
Rating: A-
P.S. For the role players out there: in any sytem that places high value on having the character you are playing staying true to your "Quirks" or other game mechanics to keep you in character...and stay true to how you would view your character reacting to a situation, then you will recognize this same kind of ideal at play in this movie in a really big way.