Click Pic for trailerAfter viewing last weeks Robert Rodrequez's action spectacular 'El Marachi' i decided to keep with the same type of vibe and check out 'In Bruges'. This movie is about two hitmen played to perfection by Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson. The character Ray, played by Colin Farrell tragically messes up his first hit job and is then sent by his boss played by Ralph Fiennes to hold up in Bruges. So lets go down the numbers here, the acting was great all of the characters where people that were larger than life i mean you had everything from acting midgets to drug using conwoman, but all of the characters were grounded in such away that everything they said and did was believable. What adds in the believability was the script which was filled with great gallows humor, politically incorrect jokes, crazy action and just enough suspense.
How this movie especially ties into our class about independent films is the fact that it was shot on a very modest budget and that the whole of the movie takes place in the small city of Bruges. Instead of having the sweeping crane shots that are typically of a European shot film everything was pretty stationary and focused on the faces of the actors with mild attention put on the city cape themselves. I felt this was done for a verity of reasons, one was probably to keep the overall price of making the movie down and the other and more important reason was to make its central characters of the hit men look more isolated. Throughout the film you get this feeling of isolation because you see the same three locations over and over and eventually they all kind of muddle together.
This is also the first film done by respected theater director Martin McDonagh. His stage directing style has been compared to involve lots of elements from Grimm fairy tales and Tarrantino esk dialog. I could sort of see that the story could partly be inspired by John Travolta and Sam Jacksons characters in 'Pulp Fiction' and the fantasy element that is known to this directer really does come to life in the third act of this film. But all in all i felt the way he directed in the movie in its use of long takes and invisible edits was refreshing in this new age of fast cuts and hand held images.
This film did well at this years Sun dance film festival and has a solid seventy five percent on rotten tomatoes which is rather good. If i had to i would rate it up there with 'El Marachi' this film takes itself a little more series but the characters and situations are very similar in both films. 'In Bruges' is currently playing at the oriental and i would suggest anybody who likes a good action/comedy romp to check it out.
1 comment:
I also saw “In Bruges” this weekend and absolutely loved how the film took an action film and spread it across multiple genres. In this respect, it was very innovative and allowed the viewer to really attach to the film. It was incredibly bizarre to watch a bloody gunfight and chuckle at the ridiculous bickering back and forth between the two gunmen. However, this absurd humor never interfered with my emotional involvement to the film. The film took many turns and hit multiple serious, almost philosophical notes when the story needed it to. I completely agree that the acting was outstanding and allowed the audience to see all aspects of the characters’ personalities. Who knew that a hit man could tell jokes and feel remorse for their actions?
I actually did not even think about comparing to this film to “El Mariachi.” Rob M. is correct; they are very similar. There is a lot of “down time” in which the primary focus of the film is conversational dialogue or a narration to the audience. However, once there is action, the action is over-the-top, bloody, and extremely entertaining. The only difference I really see with the film is the fact that “El Mariachi” has a main character that is an innocent man with a whole lot of bad luck. He is a “good guy” who is forced to fight “bad guys.” It is the epitome of a good vs. evil film. In “In Bruges,” the audience has to identify with the “bad guys” because they are the main characters. However, right from the start, the audience does not see them as “bad guys;” they see them as people. They are people with emotions and a conscience. If anything, this study about good vs. evil might parallel with a film like “Reservoir Dogs.” Who is really bad and who is really good? Are they really “bad guys” if we, as the audience, know their back-story? Are they “bad guys” if we know that they have the ability to cry? This twist is what I really find to be “independent” about both “Reservoir Dogs” and “In Bruges.” The lines between traditional genre and concepts have blended. Characters are complex and not everything is seen so black and white. “El Mariachi” took a mainstream story and changed the style in which it was presented. “In Bruges” and “Reservoir Dogs” created a whole new story and created new conventions.
--Anne Snyder
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