"In Bruges" an explosion of hit-man action and comedy

MOVIE REVIEW

The Belgians have waffles, weak beer and a lot of old stuff. Who gives a toss?

The place is a "hellhole" for Ray (Colin Farrell), a young Irish hit man sent to cool his heels in the charming medieval village of Bruges with veteran partner Ken (Brendan Gleeson) after a tragically botched job. He hates the place so much that he can't even say its name without an obscene adjective preceding it.

The best crime comedy since the great "Kiss Kiss Bang Bang," "In Bruges" is a kind of eccentric, wisecracking "Waiting for Godot" that shifts gears into a bloody, unpredictable action spectacle that never loses its heart. And it's got a coked-up, racist, American dwarf. Why are you still reading this?

Forced to share a room during the busy holiday season, Ray and Ken are like a bickering married couple, the former jumping out of his skin as the latter drags him sightseeing. While they wait for instructions from their high-strung, foul-mouthed boss, Harry (Ralph Fiennes, apparently channeling "Derek & Clive"), Ken begins falling in love with the place and rethinking his life. Ray finds trouble among the oddball local characters, who include a lovely drug dealer on a movie set (Clémence Poésy), the aforementioned dwarf (Jordan Prentice) who's in that movie, a punk grifter, obese tourists, obnoxious smokers in a restaurant and plenty more.

When Harry finally calls, his instructions force Ken into the dilemma of his life, and set off a wave of violence that engulfs the whole quirky lot. Some people have found the shift in gears to chase and gory shoot-em-up jarring, but getting to know the characters and their idiosyncrasies in the first half gives the violence extra impact.

And a heavy strain of absurdist black humor ties it all together — especially through ridiculous conversations in otherwise tense situations, such as when Ken is winding up apoplectic Harry in an outdoor cafe where he can't do anything about it.

The banter of Ray and Ken may remind you of Jules and Vincent in "Pulp Fiction," but there's an unbearable remorse behind Ray's churlishness, related to the botched hit. After such bigger-than-life failures as "Alexander" and "Miami Vice," it's Farrell's best performance in years — disgruntled, distraught, horny, impatient and not very bright. Fiennes is a riot acting against romantic type as a rageoholic. Ursine straight man Gleeson anchors it all with a deft mixture of sweetness and grit.

It's the first feature for English writer-director Martin McDonagh, the playwright who won a 2006 Oscar for his short film "Six Shooter" (also starring Gleeson). He manages to slap together the sensibilities of a Guy Ritchie crime flick and quirky comedies like — and this may not be the best example — "Calendar Girls."

He also infuses "In Bruges" with a very funny casual disdain for Americans. No, it's not a documentary. When the dwarf introduces himself as an American and asks with mock humility not to hold it against him, Ray offhandedly tells him just not to be loud or crass. Later, after hurting someone, Ray shouts, "That's for John Lennon!"

As Ray would say, at least Lennon didn't wind up in (expletive) Bruges.

Mark Rahner: 206-464-8259 or mrahner@seattletimes.com