BEFORE: Brendan Gleeson carries over again from "The Raven", completing another triple-play. I'm back to hit-men for another night, then I'll really hit the spy chain full-on tomorrow. I'm inching closer to the James Bond chain, which should start up next Thursday.
THE PLOT: Guilt-stricken after a job gone wrong, hitman Ray and his partner await orders from their ruthless boss in Bruges, Belgium.
AFTER: Again, the dichotomy of two characters, and the difference(s) between them is the key. One is a more hardened, ruthless soul, and the other is the younger, perhaps more naive one. How are they affected by their last job, and how are they affected by a change in scenery? They are asked to lay low in Bruges (pronounced Brooj, not Brew-gees or Brew-jes), which appears to be a quaint old Belgian medieval village, and blend in like tourists, not contract killers. Actually the most common pronounciation in this film seems to be "Feckin' Brooj".
Here's what I know about Belgium - they make great beer, and the history of the country is all tied up in that. For hundreds of years, England has been at war with France, or France has been at war with Germany, or Germany with England. Every time one of those countries has tried to invade the other, they've always stopped off in Belgium for a few beers first. You know, to calm the nerves - plus, it could be the last chance to grab a drink. So Belgium has never been invaded, because they're such great hosts to armies passing through. That's a smart way to position your country.
There's also some artwork on display, from the great Hieronymus Bosch, a medieval painter whose religious works contained a fair amount of what was later called surrealism. His triptych "The Last Judgment" is displayed in Bruges, and when the main characters view it, its presence suggests that they themselves are in a form of purgatory, being judged for their sins to determine whether they will be rewarded, or forced to suffer eternal torment.
The tone here sort of reminds me of "Snatch" or "Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels", only slightly more comedic. It also sort of seems like what a European Tarantino film might be like - since there's a lot of comedy in "Pulp Fiction", both intended and unintended. And the strange characters they meet in Bruges (a female drug-dealer, a racist dwarf actor) reinforce the surreal setting. Strange that hitmen have a code of honor, but you should never trust filmmakers.
Also starring Colin Farrell (last seen in "Horrible Bosses"), Ralph Fiennes (last seen in "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1"), Clémence Poésy (ditto), Zeljko Ivanek (last seen in "Tower Heist"), with a cameo from Ciaran Hinds (last seen in "There Will Be Blood").
RATING: 6 out of 10 fat tourists
I liked this one...it was like a thoughtful sequel to pretty much any "cool contract killer" movie. You killed the guy, you're going to have to lay low for a little while. So now what?
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