In Bruges

What Sarah said:

Feel like something fun? After a job gone wrong Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson) is sent off to Bruges to await instructions. The comedy plays with the inner struggles of the characters. This is getting my recommendation because I enjoy the interactions between the characters and the moments that make you laugh.

Mike’s verdict:

This film is not the light-hearted action-comedy that Sarah’s recommendation led me to believe it would be. It’s heavy. Really, heavy.

To be fair, it is entertaining. There are definitely funny moments, the writing is genuinely clever, Colin Farrell is precisely the goofy anti-hero that he always is, and the basic story is compelling. Yes, I was entertained.

But the characters, their motivations, their rationalizations, their actions – all of it is so dark. By the end of the final scene I had had quite enough of In Bruges‘ style of comedy. And I am not sure that I actually want to have been entertained by it.

This level of darkness requires a certain degree of mental preparation to properly consume. The kind of mental-readiness that isn’t expected (or appropriate) for a quiet Sunday afternoon viewing.

7/10