In Bruges: Bruges Might Not Be Hell, But It's Close
Why do most filmmakers thing that more is more? Is it not enough to have a child alone at home that you would need to make sure the child was alone for five years and that he a drug addiction and a next-door neighbor who is a pimp? At what point does a good thing start feeling overweight with extras it didn’t need? That was what was on my mind when I came out of In Bruges, the first feature film by noted playwright Neal McDonagh. If you strip away all the unnecessary parts, you’d find a great film. But it’s like finding at 58 Mustang that has been the unofficial home of 2,000 rats.
We start off with two hit men Ray and Ken, played by Collin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson. Ray had killed a priest intentionally and a little boy by accident. He’s torn up by the event when his boss (Ralph Fiennes) orders them to the city of Bruges, which we find out is the best-preserved medieval town in Europe. Ken is enchanted by it. Ray isn’t so much. In fact, he compares Bruges to Hell. We get some decent tourist jokes including one about overweight tourists going up narrow staircases. But in between the jokes is a sobering question about the soul that is poignant considering that Ray is considering suicide. To make matters more interesting is the assignment Ken is given while in Bruges. This is incredible stuff and I love it all. But then we have sexy drug dealers, hookers, and a short American actor (Jordan Prentice), whom Ray is obsessed about. And of course all of these elements have to lead up to the finale that I could see from a mile away and left me feeling busy as I tried to juggle all of the elements the movie wanted me to keep in the air.
I have no problem with absurdity in movies. Some of the best films have loads of absurd elements. But absurdity does distract when you have compelling drama going on. I love the dark humor of the movie. I love the Brendan Gleesan character with his earnestness and understanding of his dark nature that allows us to understand his character without making him simple. And I really love the dialogue, which is McDonagh’s bread and butter.
But McDonagh’s weakness is overcompensation. He didn’t trust that a simple story would work. Instead, he decided to create zaniness that isn’t needed. Look at David Mamet, another playwright turned director who makes simple stories but with deeper complexity than you could possibly imagine. I can see that McDonagh wants to create an emotional puzzle with his characters, but he shot himself in the foot by not putting faith in his characters. And then there’s the action ending that doesn’t belong. Period.
I can’t say that I liked Collin Farrell in this movie, primarily because he doesn’t seem to channel the two overlapping emotional states Ray is going through well. Ray’s childish nature shouldn’t contrast the remorse he feels, but become an extension of that character. It appears that Farrell is playing two separate characters at one time. Compare this with the flawless execution of Mr. Gleeson’s amazingly nuanced performance and Farrell comes off as a little short. I didn’t like Ralph Fiennes in this movie outside of the first time we hear his voice over a phone call. I especially found his fake teeth to be extremely annoying.
In a way, I can tell this movie was trying to be more Pulp Fiction than Glengarry Glenn Ross. But Quentin Tarrentino’s style is not something you can recreate even with a brilliant screenplay. The frenetic sense of pacing was almost a happy accident. But this movie is not Pulp Fiction. In fact, it’s almost trying not to be In Bruges.
All in all, I am disappointed that I didn’t like this movie. It had a lot going for it but decided to go for more than it should. I think some movies need to be busy or we’d realize they’re about nothing. But movies like In Bruges are about something, something almost profound, and there’s nothing that breaks profundity than coked-up short men dressed up like a schoolboy.
Grade: C
We start off with two hit men Ray and Ken, played by Collin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson. Ray had killed a priest intentionally and a little boy by accident. He’s torn up by the event when his boss (Ralph Fiennes) orders them to the city of Bruges, which we find out is the best-preserved medieval town in Europe. Ken is enchanted by it. Ray isn’t so much. In fact, he compares Bruges to Hell. We get some decent tourist jokes including one about overweight tourists going up narrow staircases. But in between the jokes is a sobering question about the soul that is poignant considering that Ray is considering suicide. To make matters more interesting is the assignment Ken is given while in Bruges. This is incredible stuff and I love it all. But then we have sexy drug dealers, hookers, and a short American actor (Jordan Prentice), whom Ray is obsessed about. And of course all of these elements have to lead up to the finale that I could see from a mile away and left me feeling busy as I tried to juggle all of the elements the movie wanted me to keep in the air.
I have no problem with absurdity in movies. Some of the best films have loads of absurd elements. But absurdity does distract when you have compelling drama going on. I love the dark humor of the movie. I love the Brendan Gleesan character with his earnestness and understanding of his dark nature that allows us to understand his character without making him simple. And I really love the dialogue, which is McDonagh’s bread and butter.
But McDonagh’s weakness is overcompensation. He didn’t trust that a simple story would work. Instead, he decided to create zaniness that isn’t needed. Look at David Mamet, another playwright turned director who makes simple stories but with deeper complexity than you could possibly imagine. I can see that McDonagh wants to create an emotional puzzle with his characters, but he shot himself in the foot by not putting faith in his characters. And then there’s the action ending that doesn’t belong. Period.
I can’t say that I liked Collin Farrell in this movie, primarily because he doesn’t seem to channel the two overlapping emotional states Ray is going through well. Ray’s childish nature shouldn’t contrast the remorse he feels, but become an extension of that character. It appears that Farrell is playing two separate characters at one time. Compare this with the flawless execution of Mr. Gleeson’s amazingly nuanced performance and Farrell comes off as a little short. I didn’t like Ralph Fiennes in this movie outside of the first time we hear his voice over a phone call. I especially found his fake teeth to be extremely annoying.
In a way, I can tell this movie was trying to be more Pulp Fiction than Glengarry Glenn Ross. But Quentin Tarrentino’s style is not something you can recreate even with a brilliant screenplay. The frenetic sense of pacing was almost a happy accident. But this movie is not Pulp Fiction. In fact, it’s almost trying not to be In Bruges.
All in all, I am disappointed that I didn’t like this movie. It had a lot going for it but decided to go for more than it should. I think some movies need to be busy or we’d realize they’re about nothing. But movies like In Bruges are about something, something almost profound, and there’s nothing that breaks profundity than coked-up short men dressed up like a schoolboy.
Grade: C
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