In Bruges (2008)

We saw this movie on Friday at the Michigan, and it was a real shocker. The preview (which we saw approximately 63 times at the Michigan) made it look like a rollicking good time full of wisecracking hit men and dwarves. And it is. But it is also good. Really really good.

The tone of the film is much darker than the previews indicate, but there is a strong thread of humor throughout. The humor often fails to interface with the story (it is surprisingly light-hearted, considering the darkness of the subject), but that disconnect lends a surreal dream-like quality to the whole thing.

All of the performances are fantastic. The characters are obviously well-written, and the performances are nuanced enough to bring out the texture. Collin Farrell is really really good in an extremely difficult role. His eyebrows might deserve a credit all their own. I thought that Brendon Gleeson's character was going to be a generic sidekick, but he is almost more central to the film than Farrell's. Ralph Fines is a surprisingly three dimensional villain.

The ambiguous ending has become such movie cannon that it is almost a cliche all its own. However, this movie stands out, because despite having an ambiguous ending--the movie still ends.

Overall, it was a fantastic film. The tone of the film benefits from the big screen, but it isn't manditory.