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Film Review: In Bruges

Dark comedy, deadpan dialogue and unexpected heart

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Film Details

🎬 Director Martin McDonagh
📝 Writer Martin McDonagh
📅 Year 2008
⏱️ Runtime 1h 47m
🎭 Genre Dark comedy, Crime, Drama
🔞 Certificate 15
🎭 Main Cast Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Ciarán Hinds, Ralph Fiennes
🎨 Mood Bleak, absurd, darkly comic
🚶‍♂️ Pace Measured with sudden bursts
🎥 Cinematography Moody, picturesque European backdrops
🎵 Soundtrack Subtle and atmospheric
🔁 Rewatch? Maybe
🏆 Score 5.5/10
🎞️ Best Moment Ralph Fiennes’ explosive arrival and moral absolutism

🎬 In Bruges Review 🎬

So onto this week’s review and an unexpected one. I’ve been meaning to watch In Bruges for some time now, and I know you’ve all been sitting patiently on the edge of your seats waiting for this 😂

Ray and Ken are two hitmen sent to Bruges, Belgium, to lie low after a job goes wrong. What follows isn’t a conventional crime thriller, but something far stranger and more reflective. With time on their hands, the pair wander the medieval city, arguing, drinking, sightseeing and, most importantly, confronting the consequences of their past actions. When the true purpose of their stay is finally revealed to Ken, it’s not at all what he expected.

Tonally, the film is pure Martin McDonagh: bitingly funny, deeply cynical and unexpectedly thoughtful. The humour is almost entirely deadpan, often landing hardest when it’s at its bleakest. There are genuine laugh out loud moments, frequently undercut seconds later by shocking or uncomfortable violence.

I’ve never been a massive Colin Farrell fan, but he’s genuinely excellent here. His Ray is obnoxious, guilt ridden and oddly sympathetic. Brendan Gleeson brings warmth and quiet moral weight to Ken, acting as the film’s conscience without ever becoming preachy. Ralph Fiennes turns up midway through and immediately injects the film with cold-blooded menace, delivering some of the sharpest and most quotable lines in the entire movie.

Visually, Bruges itself becomes a character beautiful, claustrophobic and haunting all at once. The contrast between postcard perfect scenery and the characters’ inner turmoil works brilliantly and gives the film a unique atmosphere.

This won’t be for everyone. It’s slow in places, deliberately abrasive, and often uncomfortable. But if you enjoy dark comedy with teeth, moral ambiguity and performances that quietly sneak up on you, this is absolutely worth your time.

Give it a watch you won’t be disappointed.

🍿 Final score: 5.5/10