Film Review - On DVD
Title: In Bruges
Studio: Focus Features
Director: Martin McDonagh
Cast: Colin Farrell, Ralph Fiennes, Brendan Gleeson
Released On DVD: June 24^th 2008
Film Length: 107 Minutes
First printed in The Peak on Feb 11 2008, for the theatrical release.  
http://www.the-peak.ca/article/1976  

Reviewed By: Tessa Perkins (Vancouver Correspondent - Canada) 

After a messy bump off in London, two hired killers are sent by their mob boss to hide out in Bruges, Belgium where they are told to await further instructions. This seems like a relatively simple premise, and after all, what could ever go wrong In Bruges?  

Ray and Ken (Collin Farrel and Brendan Gleeson) are quite an odd couple as they seem to have nothing in common other than killing people. Ray is depressed, suicidal, and hates Bruges with a passion, whereas Ken is calm, unruffled, and can't get enough of the beautiful architecture of such a "fairytale" city. They compliment each other very well in this film as they feed off one another's witty dialogue to create a sense of intimacy uncommon with the dirty criminal type. This proximity with their thoughts and feelings brings the audience to empathize with their struggles and dilemmas even though they are dirty thugs. During their time in Bruges, they deal with ideas of power, loyalty, guilt and sin as Ray tries to come to terms with the fact that he has taken human lives, and Ken tries to make a grim decision.

Ray is complaining before we even see him, and this continues throughout the film as he constantly tells Ken how much of a "shithole" Bruges is and asks him why they can't just hide out anywhere but Bruges? It is as though he would rather end his life than spend another moment in Bruges, and at one point Ken tells Ray that he is the worst tourist on the face of the Earth. This is all until he meets Chloe. To him, she is the only good thing in Bruges, and they begin a bizarre romance rife with drugs, a racist midget, and an ex-boyfriend/partner in crime who comes out of the whole mess with only one functioning eye. As well as the source of romance in the film, Ray is also the source of many of the comedic scenes as he has an encounter with some fat Americans and unwittingly punches a Canadian yelling "That was for John Lennon."

Ken serves as the rational anchor to Ray and he would rather spend his time laying low, sightseeing, and waiting for a call from their boss, Harry (Ralph Fiennes). When the call does come, it turns out that the purpose of their trip to Bruges has hidden intentions, and Ken must decide where his loyalty lies. Only one of them can come out of Bruges alive, and he is forced to ask himself if Ray is truly his friend or simply a piece of baggage.