In Bruges (2008)

Premise: After a hit goes awry, boss Harry (Ralph Fiennes) sends hitmen Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson) to Bruges to await instructions. When the instructions come, however, it doesn't appear that either one is up to following them.

Tragic. Comic. Tragic-comic. Tragicomic. If you can imagine these two things smushed up together, overlapping in unexpected ways, you can imagine writer-director Martin McDonagh's sophmore feature. His story of guilt, retribution, and spiritual awakening clinches on a dead priest and a midget (Jordan Prentice) filming a dream sequence. It's hilariously sad.

McDonagh's found the best way to work with Farrell's range, in what's probably the best performance I've seen from him since Tigerland, if only because the role in no way depends upon Farrell's charisma. It loosens him up to be a natural, regular sort of bloke. Ray's a mess, but he's not a soapy over-acting mess. He's the quiet kind of mess that shouldn't be left alone to think about what a mess he's in.

Farrell's has an easy chemistry with Gleeson, as Ray's put upon minder who tries to make the best of the situation, sightseeing Bruges' medieval glories. Ken's the only character who's sadder than Ray in all of this, so watching him try to save Ray is all the sadder. He just wants a chance to do some good, to save the next one.

Would that I could see Fiennes this loose on a regular basis. Harry may have principles, but they're fun ones to watch at work. There's also a terrific pair of women, Clémence Poésy and Thekla Reuten, as Ray's love interest and the inn owner, respectively, that brighten up their scenes considerably.

The tragic and the comic go slapping against each other regularly, turning into each other in a split second. It's equally delightful and sad. A-

P.S. To the man who walked up to the other man with a three year old in the theatre, asked pointedly, "Do you know what movie this is?", and reminded the guy that there was a lot of violence to follow: je t'aime.