Watch This Space Film Magazine Issue 1 | Page 11

Gleeson provides much of the film's moral compass. With a thick dollop of guilt sitting on his shoulders, he’s resigned to the fact that he is one of the bad guys, even if his child-like, wide-eyed sightseeing suggests a gentle soul. Its the sort of part Gleeson excels at, drawing a fine line between parental role model and professional assassin. Then theres Fiennes, adding another legendary bastard to his bulging repertoire of cruelty. If Amon Goeth was the last word on cinematic Nazis, he has nothing on Harry, who feels the need to send Ray to Belgium to, at the very least, have a decent view before a bullet goes through his brain. And if all this testosterone isn't your cup of tea, there's Clemence Poesy's Chloe, who provides a cool counterpoint to the masculinity and a graceful presence in the midst of mayhem. Bruges itself is a character, the Gothic buildings, gargoyles and"Medieval stuff"as they call it, providing a juxtaposition to the blood and insanity that spills in to its streets, in much the same way as Venice did for Roeg's DON'T LOOK NOW, referenced more than once here. McDonagh clearly knows his cinema and, with his DOP Eigil Bryld, plays with light and shadow masterfully. Colours are warm, lots of browns, reds and oranges, throwing the audience off and keeping them on edge, while Carter Burwell's suitably downbeat score sets a tone not a million miles from the Coen Brothers pictures for which he is best known. Multi-layered and dripping with religious symbolism, the film also plays on the narrow mindedness of outsiders, and the concept of tourism. "You think this is good, don't you?" Ray might as well be talking about the film itself. Pitch black, superbly acted and funny as hell, IN BRUGES won't do much for the Belgium tourist industry, but it has too much to recommend to ever fit inside a guide book anyway, including "Two manky hookers and a racist dwarf." Enjoy your stay, but mind the stairs, they're really narrow. Written by Chris Watt