by Xavier Toby in New Film on Thursday 26 June 2008

Writer-director Martin McDonagh has a talent for snappy dialogue which makes this crime-drama surprisingly funny. He has previously written for theatre, and it is obvious from the intelligently constructed dialogue. Theatre does not often translate well to film, but In Bruges is violent, suspenseful and hilarious throughout. Shot in the picturesque medieval city of Bruges in Belgium, this drama features two hitmen discussing life and death after a recent job went awry. Too many times, supporting characters are one-dimensional, but these characters have their own storylines and come across as fully rounded in an economy of words. The storyline then snakes through many twists towards an unexpected but neat and gory ending. There are brilliant performances from leads Collin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, and the dwarf is also very funny. But dwarves are always funny.