In BrugesPeople consumed by guilt or remorse often seek out violence as a means of self-reproach. In Bruges is a black comedy and crime drama about a pair of Irish hitmen--the younger, Ray (Colin Farrell), and his senior, Ken (Brendan Gleeson). They are instructed by their foul-mouthed handler, Harry (Ralph Fiennes), to lie low in the historical city of Bruges (in Belgium), following Ray's assassination of a priest, during which a young boy was accidentally killed in the crossfire. While Ray masks his despair over the child's death with cynicism, Ken discovers their true purpose in Bruges, leading to his own crisis of conscience.
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The past that binds Ray, Ken, and Harry together unfolds over time during In Bruges, but some aspects of their lives are left to the imagination of the audience. Key details that define them and justify their actions--and their altogether unsavory career choice--are usually communicated through unrelated or off-hand conversations. Ray's colossal bungle was the result of his inexperience as a hitman--he pumps a priest full of bullets, ignorant of anyone else in the church. Ray--who is originally from Dublin--is dispassionate at best about the medieval city of Bruges, while Ken relishes the history of the place. Ray doesn't fully grasp the severity of his sins at first, and behaves like a temperamental child, making fun of everything around him and pouting for being told to essentially "stay in his room" for two weeks. Ray's complicated grief sends him on a psychological roller coaster which even makes him suicidal; yet there is a lot about who Ray is that is left for the audience to speculate about, especially how Ken came to take him under his wing in the first place or why. Harry reveals to Ken in a long-anticipated phone call why they both had to come to Bruges--aside from it being a place which Harry recalls with nostalgia from a vacation he took in his youth. Ken had a responsibility for Ray's performance in his introductory hit, and must now make amends. Ken's heart is pulled in two different directions; he believes that Ray should be allowed to correct the course of his life, believing that he still has good in him. He tells Ray in all sincerity that even though he can never save the boy he killed, there may be another boy somewhere in the world that he can save, and that dying would mean to abandon that possibility forever.
Ken is full of anachronisms; he is a hitman who cherishes life and the legacies left by those who have come before, hence his fondness for the ambiance of Bruges. He shares that his wife was killed, and that Harry helped him achieve revenge against her killer. Ken revisits this when he and Harry are at odds over Ray's fate, and Ken strives to convince Harry of the foolishness of his "principles", because he believes in second chances--a paradoxical point of view given how Ken and Harry became allies, but formed by Ken reevaluating his outlook on life. Ken criticizes Harry's negativity and anger, despite no doubt finding it useful years ago. Harry is a very angry man, who uses words like "honor" and "principles" to justify his desperate need to control everything. When Ray and Ken go out one evening to see the city--where Ray meets an actress named Chloë (Clémence Poésy)--Harry calls and leaves a profanity-laden message with Marie (Thekla Reuten), the pregnant proprietor of their hotel; he is furious because they were not in their room like he ordered them to be when he called at an unspecified time. When Ken ultimately speaks with him on the phone, Harry describes his fondness for the city, and browbeats Ken into agreeing with him that the town is like a "fairy tale". Harry's ranking in the underworld is never clearly defined, but it is apparently high enough for him to command allegiance from a variety of hoodlums abroad--like an arms dealer named Yuri (Eric Godon), who has a fondness for the English word, "alcoves"--and to live on a comfortable estate on the outskirts of London. When Ken defies Harry over the phone, Harry loses his cool and flies into a violent rage. And despite Harry's insistence that Ray be held accountable for the death of the boy, Harry seems less angry about the destruction of innocence than his failure to maintain control--ironic since Harry rarely seems "in control" at the best of times. Ray and Ken visit various landmarks in Bruges, including an art gallery featuring the vivid and apocalyptic works of Hieronymus Bosch--where they wax theological about divine judgment and the afterlife--and a church where Ken shows reverence for the purported blood of Jesus kept there. All three men come to Bruges as if they were called there by destiny--a place where their soul is weighed on the scales of righteousness, receiving an accounting for their sins.
Recommended for: Fans of a mix of dark comedy and weighty philosophical drama with witty (if profanity-laden) dialogue, and even boasting a climactic shootout. In Bruges feels like taking a trip to the historical Belgian city without actually going, with region-specific details including plenty of Belgian ale imbibed from authentic Belgian beer snifters.
Ken is full of anachronisms; he is a hitman who cherishes life and the legacies left by those who have come before, hence his fondness for the ambiance of Bruges. He shares that his wife was killed, and that Harry helped him achieve revenge against her killer. Ken revisits this when he and Harry are at odds over Ray's fate, and Ken strives to convince Harry of the foolishness of his "principles", because he believes in second chances--a paradoxical point of view given how Ken and Harry became allies, but formed by Ken reevaluating his outlook on life. Ken criticizes Harry's negativity and anger, despite no doubt finding it useful years ago. Harry is a very angry man, who uses words like "honor" and "principles" to justify his desperate need to control everything. When Ray and Ken go out one evening to see the city--where Ray meets an actress named Chloë (Clémence Poésy)--Harry calls and leaves a profanity-laden message with Marie (Thekla Reuten), the pregnant proprietor of their hotel; he is furious because they were not in their room like he ordered them to be when he called at an unspecified time. When Ken ultimately speaks with him on the phone, Harry describes his fondness for the city, and browbeats Ken into agreeing with him that the town is like a "fairy tale". Harry's ranking in the underworld is never clearly defined, but it is apparently high enough for him to command allegiance from a variety of hoodlums abroad--like an arms dealer named Yuri (Eric Godon), who has a fondness for the English word, "alcoves"--and to live on a comfortable estate on the outskirts of London. When Ken defies Harry over the phone, Harry loses his cool and flies into a violent rage. And despite Harry's insistence that Ray be held accountable for the death of the boy, Harry seems less angry about the destruction of innocence than his failure to maintain control--ironic since Harry rarely seems "in control" at the best of times. Ray and Ken visit various landmarks in Bruges, including an art gallery featuring the vivid and apocalyptic works of Hieronymus Bosch--where they wax theological about divine judgment and the afterlife--and a church where Ken shows reverence for the purported blood of Jesus kept there. All three men come to Bruges as if they were called there by destiny--a place where their soul is weighed on the scales of righteousness, receiving an accounting for their sins.
Recommended for: Fans of a mix of dark comedy and weighty philosophical drama with witty (if profanity-laden) dialogue, and even boasting a climactic shootout. In Bruges feels like taking a trip to the historical Belgian city without actually going, with region-specific details including plenty of Belgian ale imbibed from authentic Belgian beer snifters.