Morality plays come in all sorts of forms. Writer/Director Martin McDonagh serves up an interesting version of what morality means in the land of the hit man. Rather than focusing on the cold-hearted brutality of this world, although there are certainly moments that seep through, or to be more precise, explode and ooze through, McDonagh lets us get to learn about the characters gradually before amping it up.
Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson) have been sent to a small, idyllic town in Belgium called Bruges, to hide from the authorities following their executed hit in London. Ray is a jumpy sort and detests being in Bruges. Ken seems no different than any other tourist in town. He enjoys boating through the lovely canals, visiting the historical churches and just meandering and exploring. Ray can't believe his misfortune for being sent to this, well I can't really write what he constantly calls Bruges. Ken projects an inner peace while Ray projects unbelievable inner turmoil. Later on in the film we find out why that is.
Ray finally has the good fortune to stumble upon a movie crew getting ready to film a scene and one of the ladies who is working on the film catches his eye. Once she returns the favor, "In Bruges" begins its descent into the maze of characters where one can never be too sure who stands for what. Jimmy (Jordan Prentice) is probably the most interesting of the bunch but that has little to do with the fact that he is a dwarf. His character is as demented and flawed as anyone else's and it's refreshing to see him portray a fascinating character who happens to be a dwarf, rather than a dwarf first. Hey, why can't a dwarf be a degenerate womanizer and druggie too?
The fun and games come to an end when Harry (Ralph Fiennes) comes to Bruges. He wants a hit done and it just ain't getting done so it's up to Harry to take over the task assigned originally to Ken. What follows is a sometimes comical, sometimes very serious set of events.
At the center of everything is the concept of honor among the hit men. It is carried out to extremes that are at times so absurd that you can't help but laugh. McDonagh does this on purpose. This is not a case of laughing at ineptness of story and production. McDonagh is laughing along with us. One scene stands out in this regard when Person A wants to kill Person B. Instead of just doing so, he arranges with Person B a somewhat elaborate plan that is absolutely inane that might allow Person B to escape. It could have been a scene in a "Get Smart" episode.
It all comes together as a wonderful mix of character, comedy and serious gangster brutality. Do the honorable thing and go see it.
