This is what we're watching: "Low Down in Bruges" is a melancholy black comedy about hitmen, life and death
Miscellaneous / / August 01, 2023
And the triumphant debut of Martin McDonagh.
In the new series Articles every week I talk about what films and TV shows struck me.
I rewatch "Low Down in Bruges" at least once a year. Despite the fact that I learned most of the lines a few years ago, I don’t want to stop. This is probably the most melancholic picture in the history of cinema.
Two killers find themselves in a Belgian town after a failed mission and are waiting for instructions from the boss. One enjoys architecture, the other is sick of it. The timelessness in which they hung will continue until the boss calls.
Perhaps it is this timelessness that creates the incredible atmosphere of the film. Heroes don't know what to do and play lazily as tourists. Without purpose and special desire. In combination with neoclassical music and shots of urban architecture, a penetrating melancholy is born. It does not dissipate even after the tenth viewing.
Martin McDonagh approached the set as a cult playwright who directed only one short film (Oscar-winning, by the way). Despite his theatrical past and present (he is still incredibly successful as a writer and director of plays), McDonagh is deliberately cinematic.
There are relatively few static scenes in the film, and the handheld camera only emphasizes movement, even if it is a simple walk. By the way, recentBanshee of Inisherinaare much more theatrical, easy to imagine on stage, and Brugge is pure cinema. Just with a brilliant script. And, of course, brilliant actors.
Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, arguably one of the most organic duos of recent decades. Unfortunately, together they were filmed only twice (but the third film is on the way). In "Low Down in Bruges" they play not quite colleagues and not quite friends. In their relationship there are hints of camaraderie, of professional understanding, even elements of parental care, but the matter does not go beyond hints. Because of this, their characters are not typical companions from a standard movie, but living people, with doubts and insecurity in their feelings.
The greatness of "In Bruges", in my opinion, lies in a special attitude to life and death, hanging over all the characters. It seems that no one wants to die, but they are not eager to resist death either. The only thing one of the heroes is afraid of is to die in Bruges, where he is so bored.
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