The Fine Art of Martin McDonagh: In Bruges

I have no idea what he's up to at the moment, he's apparently got an upcoming project I'm in a bit of the dark about, but anyway, with only 2 films under his belt, I can quite comfortably say that Martin McDonagh, he of In Bruges and Seven Psychopaths fame, is both one of the best directors working today, arguably the best screenwriter working today, and also has so much promise ahead of him. The man's style is a particularly tricky one to master: meta in its self-referential nature, with a great deal of humour milked from characters' self-awareness of the genre conventions their stories are seeped into, and incredibly stylized; bloody and violent in a way that's both gritty and yet darkly comedic. In this sense he gives of a vibe, in my opinion, of a Tarantino-cum-Coen Brothers combination, with a touch of David Mamet to boot, which is probably as high a praise as anything.

Like QT, McDonagh has a tendency to take actors who may not be the most regularly invested/well-utilized and really compel them to up their game with his excellent direction and, even more importantly, his fantastic dialogue. I think the most evident beneficiary of this talent is Colin Farrell. Farrell's not a bad actor in general, in fact I think he's pretty good in The New World and Phone Booth. Unfortunately in almost everything else I've seen him in he's been rather lacklustre at best, and terrible at worst. One common recurring theme through those bad performances have been that they're all lead roles in big-budget Hollywood productions - Daredevil, Total Recall, Fright Night, Minority Report. He doesn't really seem to care all that much for them, showing perhaps a bit too obviously by his performances in them that he's doing it for the bucks.

In In Bruges, which Farrell won the Golden Globe for, we see a side to this Irish rogue hitherto unknown. As Ray, a foul-mouthed, obnoxious, witty hitman with some dark secrets he's hiding out from in Bruges, Farrell is a revelation, spitting out McDonagh's darkly humorous wit with aplomb. He manages the almost impossible feat of making Ray both extreme in his antagonistic tendencies, a man who relishes fighting Americans and being a stick in the mud to his more jovial companion Ken (Brendan Gleeson), and yet also extremely charismatic. There's not a moment onscreen where Farrell doesn't energize it with brilliant deliveries ('that's for John Lennon, you Yankee fuckin' cunt' is a particular highlight for me). And despite being one of the comedic highlights of the film, Farrell also manages to suggest the underlying sense of regret for the horrible sin he accidentally committed in the line of his job.

In Bruges could be described as a buddy comedy, and the film is predominately centred around Ray and Ken, who are friends, but a most unusual pair of friends. McDonagh directs the first half of the film with remarkable restraint as he allows the performances and dialogue, and that pretty exquisite score, do the storytelling. One thing I love about the film is after the opening monologue/narration, the dialogue is pretty much exposition-free. A lesser writer or director might've been too anxious to reveal to the audience why these two hitmen are in the 'shithole' (accoridng to Ray) Bruges, but McDonagh eases us into the environment like a responsible tourguide, letting us get to know our two leads gradually before revealing the real reason for what Ray did in an extremely harrowing scene, I'm not going to post here because watching it within the film has all the more impact.

Technically a lot of the extremely funny scenes has Ray being extremely offensive. As I mentioned before, Farrell strikes the perfect balance between being funny but also within his moody and confrontational character in these scenes, but McDonagh's dilaogue also allows this to thrive. He's not painting Ray as a hero, he's painting him as an offensive but also mostly harmless little brat Ken pretty much has to take care of as the older, more sensible figure.

What also makes these scenes work is Gleeson's work as Ken. Ken is the more avuncular, cuddly type of Irish gentleman as opposed to Farrell's more introverted, unapproachable sort of devil. Ken's a hitman, too, and Gleeson's performance never shies away from this fact as his every movement, his intelligence, and his understanding of human nature all ties in perfectly to his status as a contract killer. Gleeson's Ken, however, may be the warmest, most kind-hearted hitman (and indeed, one of the most likable film characters) in film history. To him, killing people, so long as they deserve it one way or the other, is a job, and more importantly when not on the job he's just a swell, friendly fellow looking for a good time. His joy and excitement to explore Bruges is pretty infectious, and I must say I'm very much drawn to visiting every time I watch his Ken explore the place.

Gleeson's performance is funny, too, especially in his chemistry with Farrell, as is particularly evident through this scene, among many others:

Or even aginst more minor characters, like Jordan Prentice's dwarf (a funny if slightly limited role):

Gleeson plays off wonderfully against Farrell in these scenes, but his real chance to shine comes in some of the most dramatic scenes of the film where he has to make a decision between doing his job, or saving Ray's soul. Gleeson's performance and the writing of Ken in these scenes is terrific, as you see the character's decisions going on in his head, but there's never a doubt that whatever Ken's doing is in Ray's best interests. You may not agree with his moral stance necessarily, and you may be more of a Harry (Ralph Fiennes) sort, but boy will you sympathize every bit as much with Ken's moral dilemma as you will with Ray's.

(SPOILERS)

The whole buildup towards Ken's final scene is incredible work by McDonagh and Gleeson, which makes the abrupt exit of the character from the film's proceedings so heartbreaking. I should definitely note here that as funny the film is (and the humour does continue all the way to the end), it's bleakest and darkest moments are very upsetting, so be warned.

Oh yes, and there's the supporting cast. Now I don't necessarily think they shine individually as much as the next film I'm going to be talking about, but it's still a very good ensemble. Ralph Fiennes is of course easily the highlight as their fouldmouthed boss Harry. Fiennes has three big scenes everyone always talks about, the 'inanimate fucking object' scene, the stairwell scene with Ray, and...well just about any moment he shares with Ken, whether it be on the phone or in person. Here I'll show two of his more frequently overlooked scenes, the scene where he discusses weapons, and the other one a rather unwelcome letter (I also love the little sidenote the receptionist leaves at the end).

And also, I guess I can't resist putting in this scene too, which is such a brilliant conversation that I wish more movies of the sort would have as the natural weaving in and out and disgressions of the characters just feels so natural.

Also, unlike McDonagh's second directorial effort, though the female characters are to an extent sidelined here, here Clémence Poésy (also known for the Harry Potter series and being one of the few bright spots of the Birdsong adaptation), as Ray's prospective girlfriend, has a really good role. She shines as sort of the 'manic pixie girl' of the story, but unlike many incarnations of the trope, plays it in a very naturalistic way that's fitting to the tone of In Bruges: gritty but entertaining. She's the shining light of the film, and also a character written to expose the more tender, humane attributes of Ray that convinces us like Ken believes, that he's a man worth saving.

Although the sweet scenes between the two are sweet, there's always the darker undercurrent of Ray's asshole side coming out (like the Belgian joke below): 

There's also Thekla Reuten as the hotel manager, who doesn't have a lot to do, but who acts as quite the entertaining, audience avatar intermediary in the scene where Harry and Ray discuss the nature of movie shootouts. McDonagh's such a great writer that, not that he'd ever have to, but he could just escape from any movie plot hole by making his characters discuss, self-referentially, the outrageous nature of that plot hole. I really do love In Bruges, it may not be my Best Picture win for 2008 (that's still be The Dark Knight), but it certainly is one of my favourite films of the 2000's, and a perfect example of a black comedy in my books.