When you watch the trailer for the 2008 film In Bruges, it looks like a Guy Ritchie style gangster comedy. Instead, viewers got a complex dark comedy that looks at morality, judgement, and guilt.
Ken and Ray react to Bruges in different ways. Ken, being the older, wiser one, is endlessly intrigued by the city's beauty. He wants to see the buildings and learn about the city's history. Ray is the exact opposite. He finds the city boring, empty and meaningless. It soon becomes clear that Ray and Ken have little, if anything, in common.
It is quickly revealed that Ray and Ken are waiting on orders from their boss, Harry (Ralph Fiennes). They were sent to Bruges in the first place because Ray accidentally killed a young altar boy while trying to assassinate a priest (who is implied to have done something illegal) as his first job as a hit man. Their job is to stay in Bruges, keep a low profile and wait until Harry calls them for further instructions.
In Bruges is almost strangely optimistic in its portray of its 3 main characters. Despite being criminals, none of them are truly bad people. Perhaps they aren't "good" people, but they're too complex to simply call bad or evil. Ray is tortured by his inability to make things right and is very fixated on the idea of committing suicide due to his extreme guilt. He knows what he did was wrong and makes no attempt to justify it or rationalize it. He's also noted for childlike behavior (both Ken and Harry repeatedly refer to him as "the boy") which may be related to the grieving process of the young altar boy. Ken is portrayed as a generally decent and empathetic guy. He mentions that he feels bad for the people he's killed for Harry, even though most of them weren't exactly nice people. He also tries to save Ray's life. It's eventually hinted at that the only reason he's a hitman is because he owes a debt to Harry, who apparently avenged the death of Ken's wife prior to the events of the film. Harry initially appears to be an unpleasant guy as we quickly see he's foul mouthed and short tempered. However, we also discover that Harry believes that everyone has to take responsibility for their actions and that actions have consequences. For example, he says that if he had killed a child like Ray did, accidentally or not, that he would commit suicide on the spot. Harry also goes to great lengths to ensure that no innocent civilians are killed when he tries to kill Ray, such as not trying to shoot Ray in a room with a pregnant woman. Harry's morals may be seen as black and white, but he still has morals regardless.
In Bruges has what could be the most sympathetic portrayal of a child killer in the history of film. His sympathy connects to the theme of guilt and the effect it has on the guilty person. As mentioned above, Ray is sympathetic not only because the killing was accidental but because he doesn't attempt to rationalize his actions. Instead, Ray spends the entire film dealing with an extreme state of depression. The guilt of what happens seems to never truly leave his mind, even on the occasions where he seems to be focusing on other things. For example (see the image below), right before he's about to go on a date he looks at himself in the mirror and suddenly frowns, almost as if he feels that he doesn't deserve to have a fun night because of what he did.
The concept of redemption is discussed repeatedly. Ray initially doesn't believe he can redeem himself because no matter what he does, the boy is still dead. He later comes to the conclusion that the best way to make things right is to find the mother of the little boy he killed and apologize to her. She can decide what happens to him thereafter. Ken believes that Ray still has the ability to redeem himself, telling Ray that although he killed that little boy, "he can save the next one". In Ken's eyes, the boy will be dead no matter what so Ray should do something good with his life to redeem himself. Harry is the exact opposite. Harry doesn't believe redemption exists. Anybody who kills a child, even himself, should be killed instantly. The film doesn't straight out tell the audience that redemption exists, but the film does spend a lot of time with Ray to make him a sympathetic character and portrays him as a generally decent person, despite Harry's insistence that Ray should die because he did a bad thing.
In the last third of the movie, Harry and Ken spend a lengthy amount of time debating whether Ray should live or die. Meanwhile, Ray is none the wiser. The city of Bruges itself is like a purgatory. Ken is an angel hoping to save Ray. Harry is like the Grim Reaper who wants to punish a man for his sins. Ray is stuck in Bruges waiting for his fate to be decided. He discusses the concept of Purgatory early in the film, saying “Purgatory’s kind of like the in-betweeny one. You weren’t really s**t, but you weren't all that great either." Characters can't seem to decide whether Bruges is a "fairy tale" or a "s**thole". Maybe it's a little bit of both, and not really either at the same time. It's purgatory, meant for the morally ambiguous, which makes it an ideal place for the 3 main characters to be in.
Despite a limited release in February 2008, In Bruges has gone on to gain a cult following. Colin Farrell won a Golden Globe for his performance, the film received an Academy Award nomination for Best Screenplay, and the film has an 8.0 rating on IMDb, which is very respectable by their standards. Thanks to its natural blending of dark comedy and drama, and its sophisticated approach to its themes, In Bruges remains a memorable film 6 years after its release.
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