Pop Smart - Sundance review: In Bruges

IN BRUGES

(United Kingdom, 2007, 101 min, color, 35mm)

Directed/written by Martin McDonagh

Starring Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes

Truly talented writers can form a jumble of words into a sonnet or a make a trip to the dentist seem exciting. Martin McDonagh could probably do both, but what he’s really good at is making racism fun — especially when it involves midgets.

If you’re offended by the last sentence, you probably should be. But in McDonagh’s latest work — In Bruges — nothing seems offensive. Even a racist midget. The film was selected to open the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, and the committee seems to know what it was doing.

McDonagh earned an Oscar for his 2006 short film, Six Shooter. He doesn’t venture far from his genre here with a skillfully mixed blend of violence and humor. But Pulp Fiction this is not. In Bruges is more of a caper film without the caper. There is violence, but not enough to turn the stomach. Instead, we’re blessed with the downtime following the crime, and through McDonagh’s eyes, it’s actually very exciting.