McDonagh clearly likes to shock. His 2001 play, The Lieutenant of Inishmore, dared to poke fun at Irish republican terrorism and, at one point, piled the stage with severed limbs. Watching it, you didn’t know whether to recoil in horror or howl with laughter. (I did both.)
His first feature film as a director, In Bruges isn’t quite so grisly, but it’s just as provocative. Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson star as a pair of Irish hitmen who’ve been sent by their boss (Ralph Fiennes) to lie low in Bruges after a bungled job. As they await instructions, Gleeson’s Ken tours the city’s cultural sites, while Farrell’s testy, guilt-stricken Ray experiences a series of surreal encounters during which he manages to be offensive about Bruges, Belgium, women, Americans, and even dwarves.
You get the sense, now and then, that McDonagh is taking a little too much relish in Ray’s political incorrectness, but the writing is so scabrously funny that you’ll laugh despite your best intentions. The acting’s terrific, too, with Farrell and Gleeson (who appeared in McDonagh’s Oscar-winning short film, Six Shooter), in top form, as is Fiennes, playing defiantly against type as a foul-mouthed cockney crime lord.
After the pitch-black humour of In Bruges, Garth Jennings’ Son of Rambow couldn’t be more different. A surprise hit at last year’s Sundance Festival, it’s a charming coming-of-age comedy set in Hertfordshire in the early 1980s and follows the escapades of two schoolboys as they try to film their own version of Sylvester Stallone’s First Blood.
The pair make an unlikely duo. Bill Milner’s meek Will Proudfoot comes from a strict religious family (they’re Plymouth Brethren) who forbid him to watch any TV or films. Unsurprisingly, he’s entranced when surly school tearaway Lee Carter (Will Poulter) shows him a bootleg copy of Stallone’s 1982 Rambo flick and agrees to act as stuntman in the home movie Lee plans to enter in the BBC’s young filmmakers’ competition, Screen Test.
The scenes in which the innocently gung-ho Will literally throws himself into a series of hair-raising stunts are a hoot, but the film goes beyond comic pratfalls to deliver a convincing portrayal of childhood imagination and the shifting power relations of teenage friendships. Jennings also hits some potent nostalgia buttons, and has mildly satirical fun with 1980s fashion and music, while reminding us of the alluring cool of French exchange students.
I love In Bruges although it is somewhat bizarre. If you visit Bruges you can see many of the locations used in the film and there’s so much more to see and do too! We loved our trip there so much that we’ve written this free guide with recommendations on what to see…
Bruges City Guide