Spotlight Review: In Bruges

Been dying to see this! As a massive Ralph Fiennes fan, I was intrigued by the notion that the oh-so-very-prim and proper polite English gent would take the role of a foul-mouthed cockney gangster. Ralph, you 'avin a mid-life crisis, bro? 

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The tagline reads 'Shoot First, Sightsee Later'. From this little nugget we should already presume that this is not a conventional gangster film. No, screenwriter Martin McDonagh is far too clever for that. Instead he has created a wonderfully tempting potion of  
cutting wit and cobbled street cat-fights (between grown men)...all paired with a cracking plot, that holds your attention firm in it's grasp.

    Defying convention, gone is the dirty city underbelly, and greasy gangster mobs...in it's place is remarkably human tale of two hitmen forced to hide out in the beautiful historic city, of Bruges [It's in Belgium...apparently], after a job goes wrong. With nothing left to do but wait, the two go to sightsee, with Ray (played by Colin Farrell) being bored out of his brains ['Bruges is a shithole'] while the older, more mature veteran hitman Ken (Brendan Gleeson) happily takes in the culture ['Bruges is NOT a shithole']. It is not until the elusive and beautiful Chloe saunters onto the scene, that Ray finally starts to embrace the city, striking up a sweet yet edgy romance. This much-needed happiness is short lived, however when news arrives that his boss, Harry (Ralph Fiennes) has come to the city to take him out, for good. 

Farrell is sheer perfection, in his best role to date, as an immature and rude young man, who at his heart is still innocent and good-natured. Throw in a midget, a belfry tower and a whole lot of f-words, here you have one of the finest modern British {independent} films ever made. It's cheeky, it's crass, it's unrestrained...but most of all it's deeply honest and touches upon the fragility of human nature.

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**Farrell's eyebrows do deserve a special mention seeing as throughout the film they work like little furry caterpillars up and down Colin's face, providing a range of amusing poses. LOVIN' HOW YOU WORK IT COLIN.

The Faces of Farrell {Lookbook}:

'I haven't the foggiest'

'This ice-cream tastes of sh*t, man'

'F**king Bruges'