IN BRUGES — *** — Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes; rated R (profanity, violence, gore, drugs, vulgarity, slurs, brief sex, nude art).
It's easy to look past the more witty dialogue and moments in the darkly comic thriller "In Bruges."
After all, the film does boast more R-rated language and other cursing than any movie outside of the works of Quentin Tarantino or Kevin Smith. And that by itself may be enough to turn off a lot of audiences.
Those who can withstand the verbal assault on their sensibilities will be rewarded, though. The film features some very good performances, as well as an interesting take on the morality and mental strain of being a killer.
Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson star, respectively, as Ray and Ken, a pair of London-based assassins who have been sent to Belgium and await further instructions.
So, the duo winds up in scenic Bruges over the Christmas holiday. For the older, more sophisticated Ken, the town's fairy-tale-like buildings and other sights are paradise. For the more immature Ray, it's a boring nightmare.
But that doesn't stop him from getting into trouble with a film crew and getting involved with a scam artist (Clemence Poesy).
Meanwhile, their boss, foul-mouthed businessman Harry (Ralph Fiennes), has finally disclosed to Ken exactly why they've been sent there.
The film does mark the feature filmmaking debut of playwright Martin McDonagh, who won an Oscar in 2006 for his short film "Six Shooter," another piece in which Gleeson played a hitman.
"In Bruges" does change its tone often — ping-ponging back and forth between drama and comedy. And things do take a disturbingly violent turn at the end.
Luckily, McDonagh does have the majestic Belgian backdrop to focus on, as well as a top-to-bottom solid cast that appears to be having fun.
This is some of Farrell's best recent work, and he's well-matched with the always watchable Gleeson. And Fiennes nearly steals the whole show.
"In Bruges" is rated R for pervasive, strong sexual language (profanity, vulgar slang and other graphic sex talk), strong violent action (shootings, beatings and some violence against women), some fairly graphic gore, drug use and references (cocaine), slurs based on sexual preference and other derogatory language, brief sexual contact (implied), and glimpses of nude art. Running time: 101 minutes.
E-mail: jeff@desnews.com