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All things considered, I’d rather be in Bruges
by M.G. Wood
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The City Bruges, the historic center of Belgium, with its medieval architecture and lovely canals (often called The Venice of the North) is a very popular tourist destination in Europe.
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The Writer Martin McDonagh is a highly acclaimed Irish playwright, often compared to the American master David Mamet for his use of profanity as poetic flourish as well as his insightful nuances regarding the ways of men. * The Beauty Queen of Leenane (1996) * The Lonesome West (1997) * The Lieutenant of Inishmore (2001) * The Pillowman (2003) Like Mamet, McDonagh has begun to make a transition into film. His first foray, SIX SHOOTER (2005) won him an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short. Here's a clip...
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The Players The film stars Colin Farrell (TIGERLAND) and Brendan Gleeson (GANGS OF NEW YORK) as hitmen in hiding, with Ralph Fiennes (QUIZ SHOW) as their gangster boss, Jordan Prentice (HOWARD THE DUCK) as a dwarf actor, and Clémence Poésy as Farrell's love interest.
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The Film 2 hit men hole up in Bruges until they receive further notice from their boss. Gleeson wants to relax, enjoy the sights, take in the culture; Farrell, a bit of a man-child, would rather be anywhere but Bruges, so he opts to drink in one of Bruges' other cultural highlights: world class beer. The relationship, the dialogue between Gleeson and Farrell, is so sharp and funny, insinuating a deeper resonance with the slightest inflection, you just sit back and soak it in. One of the best scenes in the film is a flashback of Farrell’s first kill as a hit man, and the scene is a pitch-perfect 2-3 minute sequence that would work as a short film all on its own, but for this film's purposes it serves as a seminal moment for Farrell. Farrell gives his confession to a priest, seems innocent enough, but remarkably, and this is where we see McDonagh's potential as a filmmaker, in a quick succession of events, Farrell accidentally kills an innocent alter boy. The scene comes fairly late into the film and it adds an emotional depth that will be crucial to the film's overall impact. Farrell becomes so bored at the hotel watching Gleeson read, that he actually decides looking at the medieval architecture at night would be worth a go. Out on the town, night in the city is even more beautiful and ominous as the shadows stretch and extend into the alcoves, the nooks and crannies (alcoves, the word, plays a rather large role, as the centerpiece of a hilarious conversation late in the film). Farrell is stopped short in his stroll with Gleeson by the sight of a film production, complete with bright lights, cameras, crew, costumes, a gorgeous blond actress, and a dwarf. Considering the medieval setting, the dwarf in the film within the film instantly sparks memories of Nicolas Roeg’s Gothic masterpiece DON'T LOOK NOW (1973); the dwarf and the gorgeous blonde actress will serve as major cogs in the climax of IN BRUGES, in ways that are not easily foreseen. It must be stated that Jordan Prentice, the fine actor that plays "the dwarf" is not just a case of stunt casting for comic effect. Mr. Prentice's character is drawn with as much import as any other. Given the shocking climax of the film, his character arch is equal in strength to Farrell's. There are times when you may feel a slight sensation of whiplash, in the way McDonagh rapidly spins from whip smart comic farce to black, black ultraviolence. Even the music is great. By Carter Burwell, who has scored music for the Coen Bros.' NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (2007) and Spike Jones' ADAPTATION (2002), a quiet under-current subtly carries you along, ever so slightly nudging you throughout the piece, stirring emotion. What more could you ask for, great music, beautiful architecture, an energetic and multi-layered character study, operatic violence, and some of the funniest verbal sparrings since Billy Wilder’s hey day. What McDonagh has concocted is a black comedy gangster pic, but with something extraordinarily different: smart, funny, and ultimately human characters.
____________________________ The DVD The DVD extras contain the usual suspects: Bloopers, The Making of..., Trailers. But, the standout is a fabulous little film shot from a boat careening through the canals of Bruges, with subtitles telling us little tidbits of history and trivia regarding the city, it's just great.
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Critical Mass IN BRUGES is one of those films, for me, the moment it ended I wanted call up everyone I knew, and beg them to see this film. It's one of those films that you take so to heart, that you become personally offended by anyone who dares criticize or disparage it's merits. "Are you out of your freakin' mind?", "How could you NOT like this movie?" In general, IN BRUGES received good reviews, 79% on Rotten Tomatoes, some even as glowing as mine. But, I'd like to call out a couple of critics that clearly don't know what the hell they're talking about. Rex Reed of the New York Observer called it "gruesome, confused" My response: Poor baby, would a nice musical number have made it more palatable. Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly spoke of "static conversations between Ray and Ken" My response: Static? Static? Which definition are you basing your use of the word static? Webster's? Exerting force by reason of weight alone without motion: of or relating to bodies at rest or forces in equilibrium: showing little change: characterized by a lack of movement, animation, or progression. Again, did you see the same freakin' movie I saw? Lou Lumenick of the New York Post claims "strip-mines the very fatigued comic hit-man genre" Response: First, I didn't realize there was an actual genre called "comic hit-man". Secondly, if ever there was a "genre" that needed "strip-mining" it would be the bastard child Tarantino spawned in the form of Guy Ritchie.
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The Beer
Bruges is sometimes called The Amsterdam of Beer.
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And Finally...
I couldn't help noticing, as I'm want to do, the similarity between Gleeson and Farrell, and Laurel and Hardy.
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