So I'd heard good things about this movie, and particularly the writing, so I was looking forward to it. I'll get right into it.
The Basic Premise: Two hitmen have a job that goes wrong and are forced to hide out in Bruges (hence the title). Bruges is a city in Belgium, in case you didn't know (which I didn't).
The Verdict: I'm teetering on the edge of "liked it a lot" and "loved it". This movie is beautifully, amazingly, fantastically written. Extremely well-plotted, as nothing is unmotivated, nothing is unexplained, everything leads back to some more important event later. And such well-handled exposition, which is the mark of a strong screenplay. The music's quite nice, too, though it does detract from the tension some moments should have. The directing and acting are very good, but a tad artsy and in-your-face for my taste. You become slightly too aware of the directing, I think, which pulls you out of the immersive experience of an otherwise great movie. Otherwise, though, the screenplay by Martin McDonagh (who also directed it) astounds. If nothing else, Martin McDonagh has a new fan in me, he's definitely one to watch. I need to watch Seven Psychopaths now; it's his second writing/directing feature and is in theaters currently. I'll give this an 8.8/10, but the screenplay alone gets a 10/10.
Favorite Line: Very tough choice, since this movie functions so well as a drama and a crime story and a comedy and so much more, all of which is due to some fantastic lines, but I think the very first line of the movie is one of the most gripping first lines I've ever heard, and it really sets up the flexible tone of the rest of the movie. "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*** out of London, you dumb f***s. Get to Bruges.' I didn't even know where Bruges f***ing was. *Pause* It's in Belgium."
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