In Bruges has one of those scripts that actors love. It includes quick and witty banter but slowly develops its characters in organic, roundabout ways. It doesn’t concern itself with plot points or any sort of clever structure. Or so you think. Once it’s disarmed you with its breezy charm and left you assured that, story-wise, nothing needs to or will actually happen, BAM!—it hits you right between the eyes with the sudden realization that it’s had other, cleverly designed machinations in play all along. The screenplay’s like a superb hitman—by the time you realize what it’s actually been doing, it’s already done. The difference is, after experiencing In Bruges, you’re still around to appreciate its brilliance.
The surreptitious plot revolves around two less-than-superb hitmen. In fact, they hardly seem suited for contract killing at all. The younger of the two, Ray (Farrell), has only performed two murders, and both at the same time. Only one of them was intentional. The elder assassin, Ken (Gleeson), is gentle and relaxed, seeming less interested in taking lives than in taking in the sights of Bruges, the well-preserved medieval town the two men are sent to following Ray’s debacle of an inaugural hit.
In this quaint hamlet of cobblestone roads, the pair meets a movie-set drug dealer, a dwarf, an inept thief, a rude Canadian couple and others. The long-winded conversations they have, while often amusing, seem random and pointless. But by the time Harry (Fiennes in a role that is equal parts menacing and hilarious) arrives, all of these characters come together for a conclusion that feels as unexpected as it is inevitable. Cold, inescapable logic and a heavy dose of irony lead each character irrevocably to his fate. You can’t help but savor the architecture of it all as everything fades to black.
In Bruges
***
Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes
Directed by Martin McDonagh
Rated R
Opens Friday