Every once in a while a little film sneaks up on you and smacks you in the face, leaving you wondering where in the hell did that come from? Such is the case with the film In Bruges, writer/director Martin McDonagh’s first feature film. Set in the city of Bruges (It’s In Belgium) In Bruges is far from your standard buddy hitman flick, but does the DVD stack up to the film, read on and find out.
Bruges, the most well-preserved medieval city in the whole of Belgium, is a welcoming destination for travellers from all over the world. But for hit men Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brenden Gleeson), it could be their final destination; a difficult job has resulted in the pair being ordered right before Christmas by their London boss Harry (Ralph Fiennes) to go and cool their heels in the storybook Flemish city for a couple of weeks. Very much out of place amidst the gothic architecture, canals, and cobbled streets, the two hit men fill their days living the lives of tourists. Ray, still haunted by the bloodshed in London, hates the place, while Ken, even as he keeps a fatherly eye on Ray’s often profanely funny exploits, finds his mind and soul being expanded by the beauty and serenity of the city. But the longer they stay waiting for Harry’s call, the more surreal their experience becomes, as they find themselves in weird encounters with locals, tourists, violent medieval art, a dwarf American actor shooting a European art film, Dutch prostitutes, and a potential romance for Ray in the form of Chloë, who may have some dark secrets of her own. And when the call from Harry does finally come, Ken and Ray’s vacation becomes a life-and-death struggle of darkly comic proportions and surprisingly emotional consequences.
In Bruges couldve been your standard buddy action/comedy, thankfully everyone involved elevates this film to much more than your standard fare. McDonagh proves himseld to be a very talented writer and has a great future making movies. Everyone seems like they are having a really good time in the movie and it shows in their performances. Colin Farrell gives one of his best performanes to date. In Bruges is highly reccomended for anyone looking for a fresh and often darkly funny movie.
The special features here are lacking in numbers but not in content, while I wish there was a commentary track from McDonagh, Farrell, and Gleeson; but sadly there is none, we do get Deleted & Extended Scenes, a Gag Reel, a few making of featurettes, and a very profane montage of every single curse word in the entire film.
- Rating: 4 out of 5
Bruges is no doubt a very beautiful city to look at, and the DVD is no different, presented in its original 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen Aspect Ratio In Bruges offers a very balanced and neutral color pallet that reflects the medieval nature of the city its set in. The Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound track is equally as great, dialouge comes through clean and clear, crowd ambience is noticeable but not distracting and the gunfire is loud and boisterous on the empty streets in the final scenes.
- Rating: 5 out of 5
A very strong undiscovered gem In Bruges is a Diamond in the Rough that needs to find more people and hopefully its release on DVD will help.
- Overall Rating: out of 5
Film and Features: 4
Technical Specs: 5
Overall Review: 4.5
Studio: Universal Studios/Focus Features
Genre: Action/Comedy
Aspect: 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Audio: 5.1 Dolby Digital
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