Director
Martin McDonagh
Leading Actors/Actresses
Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson
Supporting Actors/Actresses
Ralph Fiennes, Clémence Poésy, and Jordan Prentice
Genre
Black Comedy
Language
English
Awards
Martin McDonagh was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for his work on In Bruges.
Date of Release
February 8, 2008
Producer
Graham Broadbent and Peter Czernin
Setting and Context
Bruges, Belgium; the present day
Narrator and Point of View
The film is told through the point of view of narrator Ray (Colin Farrell).
Tone and Mood
Comedic, Fun, Dark, Violent, Cunning, and Mysterious
Protagonist and Antagonist
Ray (Protagonist) vs. Harry Waters (Antagonist)
Major Conflict
The major conflict arises from Ray's struggle to keep his mouth shut and survive in the face of mounting pressure—and the always-increasing threat of death by assassination (most likely by his employers).
Climax
The climax occurs when Ray tries to commit suicide and when Harry tells Ken that he is going to kill Ray.
Foreshadowing
Ken's line to Harry foreshadows their death by suicide: "He's [Ray] suicidal. You're suicidal. I'm suicidal. Everybody's f*cking suicidal, but we don't go on about it do we?"
Understatement
The extent of Ray's stupidity is understated throughout the film.
Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques
In Bruges is no doubt a well-made and well-shot film, but it was not innovative in filming or lighting or camera techniques.
Allusions
Allusions were made to the following films: Don't Look Now, Taxi Driver, Star Wars IV: A New Hope, Time Bandits, Shrek, and Kingdom of Heaven. Allusions were also made to geography (of Europe and Bruges, specifically), religion, mythology, and popular culture.
Paradox
Ken and Harry don't indicate that they want to kill themselves, yet both kill themselves.
Parallelism
No major examples of parallelism can be found in In Bruges.
