If you went to see In Bruges to see Bruges, you might be a little disappointed.  On the other hand, if you went to see a dark comedy about hitmen who just happen to be in Bruges then you might enjoy it more.

Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson play Ray and Ken, contract killers, who have been ordered by their boss Ralph Fiennes, to hide in Bruges while the heat dies down in London after their last job.

Gleeson is what you’d expect from a killer.  He’s patient, reliable, calm.  Farrell is new to the killing game — he’s twitchy, prone to sulking, and distressed about his violent ways. They make an excellent pair, never in direct conflict, just gradually niggling at each other. They’re both skilled actors and with a script with a sense of the absurd, results in an amusing tale about Gleeson forcing the unwilling Farrell to enjoy sightseeing in Bruges.

Actually there’s more to it than that.  So sure, the actors are great and the script is deft but that’s not why I went to see it.

I went to see the film so I could say “I’ve been there” in every scene and say “I’ve eaten there” every time I saw a chocolate shop.  Unfortunately, aside from the bell tower and the main square, the film spends very little focussing on the scenery of Bruges. The background is either out of focus as the camera does a close-up of one of the actors or it is whizzing past in a chase scene, plus the buildings in Bruges are all old stone buildings so they look the same making it difficult to tell whereabouts in Bruges they were. Frankly I was disappointed with this film.

But if you wanted to watch a buddy movie which is just a bit wrong, then you’ll be much happier.  Maybe I should just go to IMAX: Bruges 3D.

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This entry was posted by the illustrious Andy Cocker on Saturday, September 20th, 2008. It concerns such pressing issues as bruges, film. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.