Colin Farrell – FRAGMENTEN UIT HET SCHEMERLAND

Director: Martin McDonagh
Writers: Martin McDonagh
Stars: Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes

This review is part of the feature:

The 33 Gangster Films You Can’t Refuse

Two hitmen, a senior (Brendan Gleeson) and his young apprentice (Colin Farrell), are sent to Bruges by their psychopathic boss Harry Waters (Ralph Fiennes) to lay low after a job went wrong.

The older killer Ken enjoys the medieval town with its many sightseeing attractions, while for his younger counterpart Ray, it is nothing short of a nightmare. We slowly learn what went wrong during their last job (Ray’s first) and why Ray feels such overwhelming guilt. Could his stay in Bruges be a metaphor for purgatory? This certainly seems to be the case.

In Bruges is an incredibly funny take on hitmen-genre with undeniably great chemistry between the two leads. Add to that, the fantastic dialogues ánd the hilarious performance by Ralph Fiennes in the final act, and you have a true classic on your hands.

Farrell and Gleeson were successfully reunited by writer-director Martin McDonagh for The Banshees of Inisherin in 2022.

The Oscar contender for Best Film of 2022 is an unusual one. The story, set on the fictional island of Inisherin in 1923, revolves around the two friends Pádraic Súilleabháin (Colin Farrell) and Colm Doherty (Brendan Gleeson). One day, the aging Colm breaks off the friendship because he is tired of the talkative airhead Pádraic. Pádraic cannot and will not accept the decision however, and keeps harassing his old friend, who in turn threatens to cut off his fingers every time Pádraic talks to him. This strange and darkly comic tale is apparently a metaphor for the Irish inner struggle with its needless violence and self mutilation. Interesting, but also taken at face value, this is a great story, filmed and acted beautifully. Another winner by the actor-director team of Martin McDonagh, Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson who brought us the suburb In Bruges in 2008.

The Banshees of Inisherin is now available on Disney Plus

The verdict: to stream or not to stream? To stream