In Bruges (2008)
You’ve got to stick to your principles.
THE SUMMARY: A hitman kills a priest, but accidentally kills a boy in the process, and is sent to Bruges, Belgium with his mentor to await further orders. He finds love, he finds a midget who likes to party, he finds out his mentor has been ordered to kill him, and he finds either death or a second chance at life, you decide. At first I was worried this would be a rom-com I would hate. By the end, its unique humor won me over.
FROM MOVIE PICKER JAMES: My favorite black comedy. Chock full of incredible one-liners.
THE BEST:
Great writing and jokes - many could not be written today: I wasn’t sure about this movie until one very specific scene: a midget talking about a race war, which he later dismissed as just cocaine talking. At that point I was in, because I knew I was watching a movie that probably couldn’t be made anymore. This movie has some incredibly edgy jokes about dingers, joggers, and other people of color: when Ray describes a balance on a seesaw between an African American female of size and a little person, or when Harry selects his gun but dismisses the uzi as a weapon that’s for ‘shooting twenty black ten-year-olds in a drive by’ in south central Los Angeles, among others. That latter scene had me shocked and laughing out loud.
The midget’s race war prophecy
Don’t be stupid. This is the shootout.
But to credit this movie’s humor only for crudeness or edginess would be incomplete. The writing is clever, and that cleverness is often subtle and totally innocent. The scene with Ray running from Harry at the hotel had me laughing, because it was just good clean clever absurdity. Ray flees to his hotel room, Harry pursues, the woman who owns the hotel intervenes, and the two men negotiate how to continue the chase fairly without endangering the hotel owner. She asks why they don’t just put their guns down, and Harry tells her ‘don’t be stupid. This is the shootout.’ Hilarious.
The midget stole the show, and completed the ending: All the main characters were funny - Ray, Ken, and Harry - but nobody was funnier than Jimmy the midget. The movie started slow, and the comedy wasn’t landing for me fully, until Jimmy arrived. He transformed a movie I wasn’t enjoying into a movie I loved, both because of his own character and the way the other characters interacted with him. His role in completing Harry’s destiny of accidentally killing a ‘boy’ in the end was perfect. RIP Jimmy.
A man of principle: In our discussions of politics, news, and culture, it’s often warned metaphorically that sticking to your principles will get you killed. In this story, a man kills himself because his principles dictate he must - that’s some dedication I admire.
Kidding, kidding - aside from ‘muh principles,’ this was great writing. Harry’s entire vendetta against Ray is that ‘you can’t kill a kid and expect to get away with it.’ Earlier in the movie, Harry says if he accidentally killed a kid, he’d end himself immediately. When that hypothetical becomes reality (at least perceived, though Jimmy is not a kid), he follows through. Great foreshadowing that I actually did not see coming.
You’ve got to stick to your principles.
THE WORST:
The heart attack joke was subtle, maybe too subtle: One of the early bits that had me laughing was Ray insulting the fat American family and the huge ham planet man chasing after him but running out of breath. There’s a callback to that family later when Harry and Ken are trying to ascend the tower, and the ticket guy says the tower is closed because some American had a heart attack climbing it. It’s clearly a reference to the earlier scene, but it’s easily missed if you aren’t paying full attention. I wish that joke was developed just a little further, but yes - I’m being very picky complaining about one joke left on the table in a movie with plenty that land.
Ambiguous ending: As I mention every time I encounter one, I don’t like ‘choose your own’ endings. In this case, Ray is shot multiple times by Harry but is still alive when he’s loaded into the ambulance. Did he die ‘in Bruges,’ which was his preference to staying in Bruges, or did he get a new chance at life? It should be noted both of the other main characters killed themselves - Ken to protect his friends, and Harry to serve his principles - is it to be assumed that Ray got himself killed too? Don’t make me write a good ending myself - that’s why I’m watching and the creators are writing. They do it well for the rest of the movie. Do it well for the viewer one last time.
THE RATING: 4/5 Wickies. Just a little slow to start and I’m not a fan of ‘choose your own’ endings, but overall a great movie with excellent humor and wit.
YOUR RATING: Vote here ⬇
(Note - due to malfunctions with the old poll system, I have switched to a new one. Please be patient with any errors or adjustments I need to make - thank you!)
NEXT WEEK: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
(As referenced above, the movie voting was broken last week, but I still gotta go with what got the most votes. Apology for the malfunction. I’ve switched to a new voting system hoping it doesn’t happen again.)
AFTER THAT? YOU PICK - VOTE! October’s nominations come from listener Mad Murdock!
(Same disclaimer as above - because the prior voting system went broken, I’m trying a new one. Please be patient with any issues that may arise. I’m not trying to fortify the election!)
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