Reviews & Quotes

"A whole lot of fun! Fresh and lively! Writer-director Martin McDonagh's dialogue is brisk and funny. He gets great work from his cast."

"Spectacular! Hilariously Transgressive! Writer-Director Martin McDonagh's dialogue is hard, fast and very funny."

"Refreshing! Delightful twists abound! With smart dialogue, winning performances and multidimensional characters, it's the sort of film demanding audiences crave."

"4 stars! In Bruges shines! Colin Farrell gives a winning performance. He and Brendan Gleeson are wonderful together. Ralph Fiennes has a grand old time."

"Crackles with energy! Ralph Fiennes is ferocious. Wonderfully realized."

4 stars! Bloody funny and insanely clever! It was a thrill to find a movie that could jab me in the ribs and make me gasp. I enjoyed every minute of it."

"Enjoy! The first – and so far only – first-rate film of 2008!"

"5 stars! Deliciously dangerous and corrosively funny! Writer-director Martin McDonagh knows how to spring surprises on the audience."

"A crackingly good film debut! Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson are marvelous."

"A loopy, violent fable! It has scabrous, foulmouthed and frequently hilarious dialogue. By far the funniest and best work I've ever seen Colin Farrell do. Martin McDonagh is a dazzlingly gifted writer."

"4 stars! In a film full of great performances, Ralph Fiennes steals the show."

"Brilliant! Mixes humor, violence and true heartfelt emotions. This is easily Colin Farrell's best role and performance."

"Explosively funny! All the zip and pow and zesty vulgarity of the movie can't hide how smart and skillful and thoughtful In Bruges is. It becomes the post-post-Tarantino film, one where the talk talk bang bang is actually, just as it was in Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, about something."

"Delivers the laughs! The interplay among characters takes on rhythm and intensity."

"Audacious! Writer-Director Martin McDonagh has a fine time balancing the dark and light. He gives his actors wonderful words to speak. Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson feel like the mob version of Laurel and Hardy. Ralph Fiennes is so comically vicious as to be almost unrecognizable. A splendid cast."

"Brilliant! The laugh out loud moments are unstoppable – as if your discovering laughing for the very first time. This debut still shouts the mark of an artist with an unmistakable, singularly independent voice."

"It's fecking funny! Go see it before I blow your fecking head off! I refuse to spoil a single surprise. But you should know this: It recycles nothing. The early part of the year is a notoriously awful time for the movies. Thankfully, there's In Bruges."

"An edge-of-your-seat crime thriller! It's early in the year, but memory of In Bruges will last long into 2008!"

"Smart, funny, and fast! A terrific Coen Brothers-like tale. This is the performance that should really put Colin Farrell in the driver's seat. Ralph Fiennes comes into the mix in such a disarming performance that he may get a whole new audience of fans just from this film. Brendan Gleeson is spectacular. I only hope this trio is remembered this fall for awards consideration."

"A hilarious, twisted pleasure. Martin McDonagh's a genius."

"I had a blast! Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell are hilarious together. This movie really rocked my world. In Bruges has become my favorite movie of the year."

"Silly and wicked!"

"Dazzling! If you could hoist a film on your shoulders and parade it through the theater for adulation and hoorays, the crime comedy In Bruges would be the one."

"4 stars! Writer/Director Martin McDonagh's dialogue crackles, alive with fresh wit and gleefully gratuitous offensiveness. A mighty directorial feat."

"4 stars! Irresistible!"

"4 stars! Endlessly Surprising! Every once in a while you find a film like this. Ingenious."

"An inky black comedy! It's clear Colin Farrell and Ralph Fiennes had a ball."

"A wicked premise! Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleason worm their way into our affections. Ralph Fiennes muscles in to hilarious effect."

"Funny and surprisingly affecting! With a lively wit, a generous spirit and a warmth that plays well against its cleverness."

"3.5 stars! Twists and turns in compelling and unpredictable ways! An original, offbeat and darkly comical caper film. In Bruges stands out boldly (and blessedly) from the rubbish and wan comedies released in February. Sharply written, superbly acted, funny and even occasionally touching. Colin Farrell in probably his best performance. Brendan Gleeson is brilliant."

"Intelligent, Superbly written and well-directed! A chip off Pulp Fiction."

"4 stars! Hilarious!"

"Wildly entertaining! Sharp, hilarious, and spectacularly well acted! Some of the most unexpectedly funny, shrewd, and perceptive dialogue we're likely to hear in any movie theater this year. Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson are in absolute peak form. Writer-Director Martin McDonagh is hugely gifted. A rare trip well worth taking."

"An entertaining black comedy!"

"A devilishly dark comedy. Disarmingly hilarious."

"Undeniably fun and refreshingly un-P.C.!"

"Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson enjoy themselves mightily! Their roles are big, broad, violent and strategically funny."

"Nifty. A blend of David Mamet and Alfred Hitchcock. Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleason bring an engaging, off-kilter rhythm to their characters, Carter Burwell's score adds a note of elegance to the mayhem. On the whole, In Bruges is as they say in the guidebooks, worth a visit."

"Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson are the two most entertaining and eccentric hit men since Pulp Fiction.(1) A blend of David Mamet and Alfred Hitchcock.(2) Fantastic. One of my favorite movies so far this year.(1)"

I don't care how you pronounce the Belgian city in the title. And I don't care how many prissy film critics complain that playwright-turned-filmmaker Martin McDonagh, 37, doesn't yet know his way around a camera. In Bruges is literate, lively cinema—a bit of all right in a sea of tongue-tied tinseltown garbage. Those who know McDonagh's great Irish plays, such as The Pillowman, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, won't be surprised by his blend of brutality and humor. The setup is simple: Two Irish hitmen, the seasoned Ken (Brendan Gleeson) and the caffeinated Ray (Colin Farrell), have been sent to Bruges by their hotheaded boss Harry (Ralph Fiennes) to cool off from a job gone wrong in London. Ken finds the medieval town and its tourists serene. Ray finds it a shithole, though a meeting with sexy Chloe (Clémence Poésy) sparks things up.