In Bruges

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In Bruges
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Martin McDonagh
Produced by	Graham Broadbent Peter Czernin
Written by	Martin McDonagh
Starring	Colin Farrell Brendan Gleeson Ralph Fiennes
Music by	Carter Burwell
Cinematography	Eigil Bryld
Editing by	Jon Gregory
Studio	Film4
Distributed by	Focus Features
Release date(s)	17 January 2008
Running time	107 min.
Country	UK
Language	English

In Bruges is a 2008 film directed and written by Martin McDonagh. The film stars Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson as hitmen in hiding, with Ralph Fiennes as their gangster boss. The film takes place within the Belgian city of Bruges. In Bruges was the opening night film of the 2008 Sundance Film Festival.^[1] The film opened in limited release in the United States on 8 February 2008; premiered at the Dublin Film Festival on 15 February 2008; later went on full release in Ireland on 7 March 2008; and opened 18 April 2008 in the United Kingdom.

Colin Farrell won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy for the film, while Martin McDonagh won a BAFTA for Best Original Screenplay.

Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Film references 4 Critical reception 5 Awards 6 DVD 7 References 8 External links

[edit] Plot

Two hitmen hide out in the Belgian city of Bruges, and amidst the city's storybook background they come to terms with issues of guilt, morality, and redemption.

During his first job, fledgling hitman Ray (Colin Farrell) accidentally kills a young boy. He and his senior colleague Ken (Brendan Gleeson) are sent to Bruges by their high-strung employer Harry Waters (Ralph Fiennes), and told to await further instructions. While Ken takes in the sights and historic medieval buildings, Ray is morose and withdrawn, wracked with guilt over being responsible for the death of a child. One night, while observing a film shoot with the dwarf actor Jimmy (Jordan Prentice), Ray strikes up a romance with Chloë (Clémence Poésy), a local drug dealer and thief moonlighting as a production assistant. On a date, Ray gets involved in a fistfight with a couple from Canada, mistaking them for Americans. Later that night, Chloë's former boyfriend Eirik (Jérémie Renier) threatens Ray with a handgun loaded with blanks, but Ray disarms him and shoots Eirik in the face, partially blinding him.

Despite his budding romance with Chloë, Ray's guilt at his accidental killing of the boy continues to haunt him. Ken finally receives a call from Harry, who orders him to kill Ray on the principle that the killing of a child – even accidentally – is unforgivable. Ken retrieves a handgun from Harry's local Belgian contact and tracks Ray to a park. As Ken sneaks up behind Ray to kill him, he sees Ray is about to shoot himself. His concern for his young charge overrides his sense of duty to their employer, and Ken prevents Ray's suicide. Ken then confesses to Ray that he had been ordered by Harry to kill Ray, although Ken denies that he intended to go through with the execution. While the two discuss the situation, Ken disarms Ray and convinces him to leave the city and the business. Following Ray's departure, Ken calls Harry, reveals his insubordination and location, and abruptly hangs up. An enraged Harry immediately heads to Bruges, where he gets a gun from his contact.

Before Ray's train has traveled far from the city, he is arrested for assaulting the Canadian couple and escorted back to Bruges. Ken and Harry meet for a drink before ascending the steps of Bruges' belfry. At the top of the carillon tower, Ken declares that Ray deserves a chance at redemption, and offers his life in exchange for Ray's. Harry, while furious, takes pity on Ken and, rather than killing him, shoots him in the leg. Meanwhile, Chloë bails Ray out of jail, and the two share a drink on the market square beneath the belfry. When Eirik informs Harry of Ray's location, Ken attacks Harry to protect Ray, and is shot in the neck. Harry descends the steps to confront Ray, leaving Ken. Seriously wounded, Ken drags himself back to the top of the carillon tower and searches for Harry in an attempt to shoot him before he harms Ray, but due to fog cannot see from the tower. Ken decides to jump off with his gun, hoping to allow Ray to use it in his defence. Landing in the plaza, he lives just long enough to warn Ray of Harry's arrival. However, the gun is shattered by the fall.

Ray flees back to the hotel for his gun. Harry arrives soon after, but the pregnant owner of the hotel refuses to allow him up the stairs. Shouting through the stairwell, both men agree that Ray will try to flee from the back of the hotel, and Harry will run after him and shoot him if he can. Ray jumps on a boat passing by, and Harry shoots him from a distance. Harry pursues the now-wounded Ray through the streets before stumbling onto the film set, where Jimmy is in costume as a schoolboy. Harry shoots Ray another three times and in the process inadvertently blows Jimmy's head off. Mistaking Jimmy's headless body for that of a child, Harry commits suicide on principle. The gravely-wounded Ray is lifted onto an ambulance while pondering his life and the afterlife, surrounded by the townspeople he has encountered. As he sees Chloë he realizes that he hopes he survives. At that point he loses consciousness, leaving his fate unclear.

[edit] Cast

• Colin Farrell as Ray, a novice hitman riddled with guilt from his first assignment.
• Brendan Gleeson as Ken, an older and more experienced hitman.
• Ralph Fiennes as Harry Waters, a crime boss with unbending principles.
• Clémence Poésy as Chloë, a Belgian criminal and production assistant.
• Jordan Prentice as Jimmy, an American dwarf actor.
• Thekla Reuten as Marie, co-owner and operator of the hotel.
• Jérémie Renier as Eirik, Chloë's ex-boyfriend.
• Anna Madeley as Denise, a Dutch prostitute picked up by Jimmy.
• Elizabeth Berrington as Natalie, Harry's wife.
• Željko Ivanek as The Canadian Tourist
• Ciarán Hinds (uncredited) as The Priest

[edit] Film references

The plot bears notable similarities to Harold Pinter's The Dumb Waiter.^[2] The film also contains many references to Don't Look Now,^[3] including the claim by Chloë that the film-within-a-film is an homage of Don't Look Now. There are also several references to Touch of Evil, which Ken watches in his hotel room.

[edit] Critical reception

The film received generally favourable reviews from critics. As of 4 June 2009, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 81% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 149 reviews.^[4] Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 67 out of 100, based on 34 reviews.^[5] Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert gave the film high praise and a four-out-of-four-star rating, saying, "This film debut by the theater writer and director Martin McDonagh is an endlessly surprising, very dark, human comedy, with a plot that cannot be foreseen but only relished."^[6]

[edit] Awards

In Bruges was nominated for a total of seven awards by the British Independent Film Awards,^[7] including nominations for The Douglas Hickox Award (Best Debut Director), Best Actor and Best Screenplay, the latter of which it won.^[8] It has also been nominated for two IPA Satellite Awards for Best Actor (Brendan Gleeson) and Motion Picture (Comedy or Musical).^[9]

In November 2008, Martin McDonagh won the Irish Playwrights and Screenwriters Guild (IPSG) award for Best Film Script for In Bruges.^[10]

The film was also nominated for the 2008 Best Motion Picture (Comedy or Musical), and both Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell were nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture (Comedy or Musical),^[11] which Farrell won at the 66th Golden Globe Awards ceremony, broadcast on 11 January 2009.^[12] McDonagh won the Best Screenplay BAFTA in February 2009.^[13]

The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay in 2009, but lost to Milk.^[14]

The film won best international film at the Irish Film and Television Awards in 2009.

[edit] DVD

The film was released on DVD in Region 1 on 24 June 2008, Region 2 on 11 August 2008 and Region 4 on 21 January 2009. It was also released on Blu-Ray on 27 January 2009, however the Blu-Ray version is not available in Region 1.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: In Bruges

• Official website
• In Bruges at the Internet Movie Database
• In Bruges at Rotten Tomatoes
• In Bruges at Metacritic
• In Bruges at Box Office Mojo
• In Bruges at Allmovie

v • d • e Works by Martin McDonagh The Leenane Trilogy The Beauty Queen of Leenane · A Skull in Connemara · The Lonesome West The Aran Islands Trilogy The Cripple of Inishmaan · The Lieutenant of Inishmore · The Banshees of Inisheer Other Plays The Pillowman Films Six Shooter · In Bruges