Sundance Review: In Bruges

Colin Farrell plays Ray, a guilt-ridden hitman who is sent by his boss to Bruges, a little "fairy tale-like village". Ray's partner Ken, played by Brendan Gleeson, is more interested in sightseeing, touring churches and canals, while Ray is left contemplating the fatale mistake in their last job. While in Belgium, they have encounters with a family of fat American tourists, a racist drunk horse-tranqualizer-popping dwarf actor, and his cute drug-dealing con-artist friend named ChloÃ" (played by Clémence Poésy, of Harry Potter fame).

In Bruges jerks from farcical comedy to drama to action, and this may be too much for typical American audiences. The film has a serious identity crisis, which will sadly never be solved. Other than that, this film is competently directed by Martin McDonagh, an award-winning playwright in his feature film debut. McDonagh also won an Academy Award for his 2004 short Six Shooter. The screenplay is clever, taking unexpected twists throughout. The "c**t"-heavy dialogue is snappy and original, and Ray's ignorant comments towards "midgets" might be too politically incorrect for some, while I found it to be hilarious.

/Film Rating: 7.5 out of 10