The bloody, talky hitman film that is In Bruges works almost as well as a Tarantino-esque pop comedy as it does a gloomy meditation on crippling guilt.
The protagonist, a hitman played by Colin Farrell, finds himself doubly stuck in his own private hell when sent to the Belgian city of Bruges after his first wacking went disasterously wrong. Along with him is Brendan Gleeson, his mentor of sorts who relishes the surroundings while struggling with his own proxy role in the botched murder. The chemistry between the two actors is enormous and key, as the assassins find a hint of redeemption through their own disparate demons and dispositions. Ralph Fiennes drops in during the final third as their boss, an honor-bound gangster determined to clean up the mess using his own set of rules.
Pic is flawlessly acted and consistently funny, and for the most part unpredictable. However, while the film's divorce from reality functions well for the first 80 minutes, eventually several characters make decisions that could only come from a screenwriter's pen. The ending is good, but not quite appropriate, rendering this otherwise exceptional film a near-classic.
4 out of 5
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