In Bruges

Finally 2008 has given me a movie that doesn’t make me throw-up in my mouth. Not only does In Bruges not suck, but it is actually a good movie. In Bruges is the story of a promising young hit man, Ray (Colin Ferrell), who makes a costly mistake during one of his jobs and has to hide out “in Bruges”, Belgium while things calm down back in London. While in Bruges Ray with the help of his partner Ken (Brenda Gleason), a veteran of the cleaning business, tries to come to grips with what he as done amongst the beautifully yet incredibly boring back drop of a town where not much happens. Doing his best to stave off insanity from the tremendous boredom Ray ends up falling for a young woman, Chloe (Clemence Posey) working for a film company that is making a movie in Bruges. In the midst of movies, midgets and monotony Ray grapples with life, death and the purpose of existence. You know - simple stuff.

I was not sure if Collin still had anything left in his “acting” tank. After a series of mediocre performances Ferrell has once again joined the ranks of the promising young actors who paint a very nice picture for the future of film making. Ferrell does a nice job of communicating the angst that Ray feels after having done what he did, albeit accidentally, yet it does not undo what has been done. At the same time Ray is a hit man and hit men don’t cry or grapple with life and death, they kill and that’s it. Ferrell is not alone in giving a strong performance, to his right and left stand Ralf Fiennes and Brendan Gleason, both are stand-out actors who continue to deliver. There is a scene at the end between the two veterans that is the stuff of great movie making.

Regarding the guts of the movies, script, filming, sets, etc. I found myself not totally impressed by Bruges, although it is not difficult to see why a film maker would be drawn to such a place, just not my cup of tea. Regarding script, the story is very strong, I love the idea of a young hit man just starting out being confronted with something so terrible his first time on the job that he questions everything.

GRADE – A-