“If I’d grown up on a farm and was retarded, Bruges might impress me, but I didn’t so it doesn’t,” says Ray to his enthusiastic touristy hitman partner Ken just upon arriving Bruges, Belgium-- the location of their latest job. While they start off on different pages, Ray and Ken form a unique relationship as hilariously awkward situations, violent episodes and surprising revelations ensue.

The film’s strongest asset is Martin McDonagh, the writer and director. With In Bruges, McDonagh, an acclaimed Irish playwright, continues along the path of his other plays by using sharp wit and extreme bloodshed to bring to light the absurdity of violence. The performances of Colin Farrel, Ralph Fiennes and Brendan Gleeson all deserve spotlight attention. Colin Farrel (Ray) effectively combines a boyish vulnerability with profound remorse to deliver a performance both comical and heartbreaking, while Brendan Gleeson (Ken) demonstrates remoteness and sympathy with the utmost strength and subtly. What may seem like an unlikely pair translates effortlessly with these two actors playing the parts of two hitman, worlds apart but stuck in the same city. The decision to cast Ralph Fiennes as the ceaselessly swearing, incessantly livid mob boss with a twinge of compassion is brilliant, because although we do not expect Fiennes to be the bad one, he owns the role.

Throughout the movie we see the signature McDonagh element of presenting violence in a humorous and nonchalant way. When Ray tells a beautiful Belgian woman that he kills people for a living, she simply asks what kind of people and he honestly answers, “Priests, children, the usual.” Yet, McDonagh also adds segments of pure comedy, violence, terror and action separately as well, which may come off as disjointed for some audiences. Also a key element of McDonagh’s is his ability to present an important question in an isolated moment, as in the scene where Ray, Ken, an American dwarf and two prostitutes are drugged up and discussing an inevitable war between the blacks and the whites. Ken tells the story of his black wife murdered by a white man and asks, “Whose side do I fight on in this wonderful war?”

Overall, In Bruges is not the most polished black comedy or action adventure drama, but Martin McDonagh’s comedic intelligence brings the point across along with three surprising and satisfying performances. Regardless of whether or not you like In Bruges, but as long as you have the stomach, you’re likely to see McDonagh’s play, "The Lieutenant of Inishmore," as nothing short of wonderful. There are no plans to make a movie version (probably because it makes In Bruges look like Fun With Dick & Jane), but lets keep our fingers crossed.

by Sanela Djokovic