~*~A pErFeCt DrAmAdY~*~

After been recomended by a few friends, I looked for this DVD and what held my eyes was the tagline “Shoot first. Sightsee later.” What I thought from the tagline and from the cover, that movie would be an action movie and I very fervently started watching it and as the movie progressed I got deeply involved in the movie. The movie made me laugh from the opening note: Colin Farrell's voice over during the opening credits saying "After I killed him, I dropped the gun in the Thames, washed the residue off me hands in the bathroom of a Burger King, and walked home to await instructions. Shortly thereafter the instructions came through - "Get the F**k out of London, you dumb fucks. Get to Bruges." I didn't even know where Bruges fucking was. Where the f**k is Bruges?" and only then I knew that I gonna love this one.

This movie is a hitman dark comedy or better to call a dramedy. As a comedy the film is impudent impertinent and drolly fun and as a drama, the film is murky and unpredictably piteously dramatic and at last I was confused what to feel. It tell us that life is offensive, witty, assorted, existential, and just plain pissed off when you're a hit-man and that too hold up in medieval city of Bruges. This movie In Bruges stands out boldly (and blessedly) from the rubbish and wan comedy genre movies as “Meet the Spartans”.

Plot:
Two Irish hit men Older and wiser Ken and Rookie Ray hold up in the medieval city of Bruges waiting for instructions from their Boss Harry who send them their to cool off after a failed mission. Ken likes the quietude and serenity of city with its churches, canals and fine old buildings where as rookie Ray a soft-centred, dim young man sees it as a sh!thole. Ray's mind is nonetheless preyed upon by his truly horrible, although inadvertent bloodshed in London while committing his first assignment and his answer to everything is violence. But the longer they stay waiting for Harry's call, the more bizarre their experience becomes and they came in touch with tourists, a Dutch prostitute, a dwarf American actor working in a British art movie and a potential romance for Ray in form of Chloe a drug dealer for a living. In this way both men find some happiness in the city while being stuck there. And when the call from Harry does finally come, and when he does all hell really breaks loose and finally the movie ends up with a code of conduct play into the resolution.

Acting:
Colin Farrell as half wise-ass womanizer and half half-suicidal Ray with his eyebrows forever arching and his expression often set to confused, the one who is uncouth, conceited, unacquainted, and gets a kick out of hitting, killing, and insulting people but he is also a thoughtful man distraught about what happened in London. His one liner is amazing and is in abundance and you will be laughing continuously.

Ray nag and go on about about how he just hates Bruges and “Rubbish" is the best word with which he come up with to describe Bruges. “If I'd grown up on a farm and was retarded, Bruges might impress me. But I didn't, so it doesn't.”

His dialogues are loaded with sacrilege and few might deem it bigot, racist and mean. As“I do know a Belgium joke. What's Belgium famous for? Chocolates and child abuse, and they only invented the chocolates to get to the kids.”
“Even midgets have to take drugs to stick it”

But still, he was haunted by his past and having seen the error of his ways, he feels the need to make right, even if he hides it with a lot of complaining and arguments “I'd go to that house, apologize to the mother there, and accept whatever punishment she chose for me. Prison...death...didn't matter. Because at least in prison and at least in death, you know, I wouldn't be in f**king Bruges.”

An idyllic coalesces of comic timing, serrated allure and vulnerability - it's a knockout performance. He defies all the odds and manages to be as sympathetic in the dramatic parts as he is enchantingly acerbic in the comic parts.

Brendan Gleeson as Ken, a fantastically artistic performance as Farrell's mentor and friend. He is a tough guy, proficient of murdering anyone, but on the other hand he's very soft, lovable and pleasant, kind and a joy to be around. Ken has a certain level of contentment and self-knowledge. He’s a hitman and he has some moral issues with that but he’s learned to live with those issues. He is like a fatherly figure for Ray and helps him through the emotional fight he is going through.

Ralph Fiennes (Harry potter, Schlinder’s list and The Constant Gardener) as Harry, a mean-spirited bloke is duo’s boss and who arrives in Bruges to take care of some nasty business and to act out his sociopathic "principles". He is a family man with a ferocious principled susceptibility but he also displays a short temper and a penchant for obscenity. And at last he finds himself the victim of his own moral code in the end. Impeccably executed.

Clemence Poesy (as Chloe an attractive drug dealer selling drugs to a racist dwarf) Jordan Prentice (A racist dwarf American actor working in a British art movie) and all others have done excellent job in giving a proper kick to the movie.

Direction: Martin McDonagh (who won Oscar for his short film Six Shooter in 2006 and a famous play writer) is back with his first feature film, a black comedy about hitmen taking care of their life while awaiting their next assignment. He has eerie fashion of narration and it can be seen clearly where he mixes comedy and racism slurs with a superb elaborateness. This movie proffers magnificent vista commendable of the preeminent travelogue and emotional emblematic journey of the characters. The intricacies of screen play are diverse, sundry, assorted, rising and defining character through dialogue as well as throughaction. The first hour of the movie is a slapstick comedy and when you start thinking it to be a normal comedy, he throws in the ace and for next 45 min it is a brutal and full of emotionality.

My Take: When I started this movie, I don’t have many expectations from it but truly speaking this kept me bound. This movie not only exemplifies the daring deeds of the chase and kills but also consents the audience to feel the human side of those whose job it is to kill others. The humor is extremely effective, mostly coming from Ray in form of one liner. His irresponsible negligent trickery in the world of bereavement and brutality are more poignant than witty. Another plus is the film is remarkably well shot and the brilliant background music. In Bruges is a treacherously bravura confederacy of plot, meaning, acting, story, cinematography and direction. Truly speaking the movie is droll and unpredictable, a deadly combo. I will easily give 4 stars out of 5.

(P.S. Movie is Rated R for strong bloody violence, pervasive language and some drug use) And guys please be ready for “beep” in this movie (In movie F**k was used for approx 100 times, C**t for more than10 and Sh!t - at least 25 times) Remember it’s a dramedy… Besides a hefty sum of milder profanities and obscenities as well throughout.)