{"id":2403,"date":"2008-08-12T20:12:44","date_gmt":"2008-08-12T19:12:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/?p=2403"},"modified":"2008-08-12T20:12:44","modified_gmt":"2008-08-12T19:12:44","slug":"dvd-pick-in-bruges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.filmdetail.com\/2008\/08\/12\/dvd-pick-in-bruges\/","title":{"rendered":"DVD Pick: In Bruges"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>In Bruges<\/strong><\/a> is the tale of two Irish hit men named Ray (Colin Farrell<\/a>) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson<\/a>) who have been sent to lie low in the Belgian city of Bruges<\/a>.<\/p>\n

There they have arguments with one another and upset all manner of people from the locals, US tourists and even the crime boss (Ralph Fiennes<\/a>) who sent them there.<\/p>\n

Written and directed by the playwright Martin McDonagh<\/a>, who won an Oscar in 2006<\/a> for his short film Six Shooter<\/a>, this is one of the most impressive debut features in recent memory.<\/p>\n

Not only does it contain several memorable sequences, but it contains the sort of ballsy, politically incorrect humour absent from a lot of mainstream comedy movies.<\/p>\n

It also features some excellent performances, most notably from the two leads. Gleeson is his usual dependable self whilst Farrell shows what a good actor he can be when released from the constraints of big budget Hollywood productions.<\/p>\n

Ralph Fiennes also makes a startling impression in a menacing supporting role that owes more to his turn in Schindler’s List than some of his more recent performances.<\/p>\n

If you are familiar with the sensibility of McDonagh’s plays, such as The Lieutenant of Inishmore<\/a>, you will find much to feast on here – it feels like Harold Pinter’s The Dumb Waiter<\/a> remade by Quentin Tarantino<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It opened the Sundance Film Festival<\/a> back in January and got a wider US release in February, with a UK opening following in April.<\/p>\n

Although it had a relatively low budget, it still didn’t really get the attention it deserved, which may have been down to bad marketing (the US one sheet poster was horrible<\/a>, with the UK one not much better<\/a>) or maybe the title confused people.<\/p>\n

But the DVD is an essential purchase as this is easily one of the best films to come put this year – smart, funny and superbly made.<\/p>\n

The extras include:<\/p>\n