4 out of 5

Director: Martin McDonagh

In Bruges is a brilliantly balanced dark comedy with great, realistic performances and clever plotting that suffers from an inability to pinpoint the tone from the trailer or description. To call it a strict comedy is selling it short, as the meat of the story is quite heavy, and calling it drama would perhaps miff those unexpecting such hilarity amidst the bleakness. Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson play Ray and Ken, two hitmen who are biding time in Bruges – at the behest of their boss Ray Fiennes – after a hit. The characters are sketched out pretty early on (Ray is finicky, angry and restless and Ken is patient, wiser and calm) and we are offered a slow but fascinating tour of Bruges and the funny characters therein, during which some background on the Why Are They Here?s are filled in. All the while the balance is kept between comedy, intrigue, and almost tragic drama, with seemingly little forced effort on anyones behalf, largely thanks to the human performances put on by the leads. By the time their boss comes to town to settle matters, the viewer is completely comfortable in the movie, trawled along almost dreamily in a way that you wish could keep going. The score, cinematography, and lighting really make everything so flush. If Im being vague with the plot its because part of the joy of the movie is the paced, unexpected ride, and plot points may ruin that. The ending seemed a little too wrapped up in tying themes together, hence the lost star, but this is truly a surprising movie.