Two hitmen (Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson) have been ordered to hide out in Bruges (it's in Belgium) until the heat dies down after a recent job. Gleeson, best known as "Mad Eye" moody from Harry Potter films, is a reasonably cultured and introspective hitman, so he delights in the city's medieval buildings, canals, and cobblestone streets, but despite the director's obvious love of this stunning city, Farrell's character never wavers from his belief that Bruges is a shithole. While Gleeson is awestruck by the city's rich history, Farrell "sulks like a five-year old who's dropped his sweeties".
He only perks up when he discovers a film shoot involving midgets, and then meets a beautiful young woman (Chloe) who he invites to dinner after sneaking on set. They each have sordid pasts, but offer each other a shot at redemption.
Farrell is a bundle of nervous energy, as usual, but this time there's a reason why his character is always trying to crawl out of his own skin. I won't reveal the reason here, but after a half hour or so you'll understand why he's constantly at war with himself. On a dinner date, for example, he tells Chloe a coarse joke about a recent series of murders in Belgium. When Chloe says that one of the victims was a friend of hers, his self-loathing is genuine, but moments later she reveals that she was only teasing, and Farrell is soon bursting with laughter. A minute later, he's beating up the man at the next table.
Gleeson, on the other hand, is the relatively philosophical voice of reason. He's a more experienced hitman who's good at his job, but would have chosen a different career if his life hadn't turned out the way it did. He manages to think of himself as a relatively decent person despite the fact that he kills people for money, so he becomes Farrell's de facto therapist, tour guide, and father figure while trying to help him work through his issues, which are very real and not played for laughs like in Grosse Pointe Blank or Analyze This.
But the sightseeing, bonding, and laying low can't last forever, so once the high-maintenance, volatile crime boss (Ralph Fiennes) reveals the real reason that Farrell and Gleeson are in Bruges, the threat of future violence comes into play.
You might find the first half of the film a bit slow if you're expecting non-stop action, and if you're easily offended you might find yourself wincing repeatedly as Farrell makes consistently rude remarks about Americans, homosexuals, midgets, and countless others.
The fact that there happens to be a film shoot taking place In Bruges is somewhat self-indulgent, but the dialogue was so sharp and funny, and the location was so stunning, and the brotherly relationship between Gleeson and Farrell was so appealing that I was able to forgive the somewhat contrived ending.
Unlike most comedies about killers, this one reminds us that innocent people often get hurt when there's gunplay, and when the violence does come in the third act it's quite brutal, so the movie should appeal to fans of the Coen Brothers' Fargo. And there are obvious parallels between these two hitmen and those portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta in Pulp Fiction, but In Bruges has a style and tone that feels fresh. And, most importantly, it's extremely funny and I cared about these characters as much as they cared for each other.
Final verdict: 9/10
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