Colin Farrellas RayThe story
About In Bruges
After a job in England goes badly wrong, two Irish hitmen are told by their boss to lie low in a medieval Belgian city over Christmas and wait for his call. The older man happily takes in the churches, canals and museums, while his guilt-ridden younger partner is bored rigid and itching to leave. When the call finally comes, it carries an order that turns the pair's odd friendship into a matter of life and death.
The CineClaus verdict
Christmassy only by accident of the calendar.
The lights are up in the streets but the season barely touches the plot, and we won't pretend otherwise. What it does have is Martin McDonagh's BAFTA-winning script. Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson make a double act good enough to forgive the swearing, and the film is very funny and quietly sad about guilt, right up until a final act that turns brutal.
Better suited to the lull between Christmas and New Year, once the relatives have gone home.
The family desk
Can the kids watch?
Our take: keep this well away from children, as strong bloody violence, near-constant very strong language and hard drug use make it a film for adults.
BBFC advice: Contains strong bloody violence, very strong language and hard drug use.
Content advice & accessibility
- Where the advice comes from
- The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC).
- Our age guidance
- Editorial, separate from the official 18 certificate, and never looser than it.
