Unsung Heroes: The Cinematography of In Bruges

Hi, everybody. This is Michael C here from Serious Film and this week I'm excited to be writing about one of my very favorite films of the last decade, one that improves dramatically which each repeated viewing. So lets get to the overlooked element of this largely overlooked gem.

One could argue that a lot of work was done for Eigil Bryld when director Martin McDonagh decided to shoot on location in the breathtakingly beautiful Belgian city of Bruges. But as cinematographer for In Bruges he couldn't be content to merely do justice to his gorgeous setting. The cliche is that a setting is like another character in a story, but in the case of this movie the city of Bruges features as prominently in the plot as it does in the title. Bryld succeeds in using the look of the movie to add depth and texture to the story, implying things left unsaid and underlining the film's themes in unforgettable fashion.

Take the character of Ken, played by Brendan Gleeson. While the other character's get showier emotions to play - Ray's guilt, Harry's explosive frustration - Ken's arc is an internal one, subtle enough that one could be forgiven for missing it altogether on first viewing. Over the course of the story Ken, a professional killer, is compelled to listen to the better angels of his nature and put his own life on the line in order to spare Ray. This transition is never stated explicitly. Instead it is communicated to the audience visually through the looks of peace that wash over Gleeson's face as Bruges envelops him in its hazy golden glow. In this shot Ken is on the outside looking in at a picture of perfect happiness that his occupation will never allow him to experience. 

Bryld's work here isn't just beautiful for its own sake. It's actually doing a lot of the heavy lifting for the story.

When it comes to the more explicit story, Bryld and McDonagh are able to frame the picturesque qualities of the "perfectly preserved medieval town" so that they are as inescapable as Ray's crushing Catholic guilt. The religious imagery and architecture are omnipresent. It could seem like overkill that the film's climax is literally staged in a Bosch painting of Judgment Day come to life, but the beauty of the scenes images so justifies the scene's existence on their own that any symbolism is able to hide in plain sight.

It's also worth noting that in addition to carrying the story's thematic weight, the camerawork of In Bruges also goes a long way towards delivering the funny. McDonagh and Bryld are great at composing shots of Gleeson and Farrell together to emphasize how mismatched they are with each other and how out of place they are in Bruges. The framing gets laughs on its own.

Bryld's filming of In Bruges gives the movies as memorable a picture of a place as we've had in recent years. His vision of Bruges could stand up to comparison with Robert Kraskers evocation of Vienna in The Third Man, which is pretty much the highest praise I have to give.

5 More From TIFF: Perrier's Bounty, The Joneses, The Hole, Survival of the Dead and A Serious Man

Faithful readers! You may have noticed my absence from the blog of late as I let friends fill in from the Toronto International Film Festival. The Canadian fest wraps today but we've got a few more TIFF related reports to get through. I hope you're enjoying (comment!). After the TIFF wrap, I'll be back. Things have been crazy for me. Apologies! (I can't wait to tell you about my star studded 'Oprah Day'). Here's five more capsules from Txt Critic who I like to argue with in real life (he sees everything) despite his anonymity here.

on The Joneses

This satire of consumerism starring Demi Moore (at TIFF with her man, left) and David Duchovny as parents of a fake family "cell" placed into suburbia to sell their neighbors on various products is about as stale and 'blah' as that plot description sounds. The screenplay leaves both leads grasping at straws to fill in the holes of their characters and it's awkwardly indecisive on a tone; the softball-satire "jokes" clash with the stabs at relevancy and pathos (including a "what have we learned here" climax), and none of the actors ever finds a consistent pitch. I'd be surprised if it gets theatrical distribution. (C)

on The Hole

While I didn't get to see the entire film (the fire alarm was pulled twenty minutes before the film was over!), I feel like I got the gist of this 3-D Poltergeist throwback from Joe Dante. The movie, which intends to be a horror film for family audiences (PG-13?), alternates between groan-inducing dialogue, family drama backstory and jumpy B-movie scares (e.g. a creepy clown doll that keeps reappearing in inconvenient locations). It’s not up to snuff with Dante’s Gremlins but what is? If you have any 8-to-12-year-old kids who like being scared, take them along. That said, you’d still probably be better off with a DVD of Coraline. (C+)

On Perrier's Bounty

Derivative of films like In Bruges (without the emotional heft) and Snatch (without the emphasis on style), this Irish crime comedy flew under the radar of most festival-goers, despite starring well-liked mick stars Cillian Murphy, Brendan Gleeson and Jim Broadbent. Though it doesn’t bring a ton new to the well-worn genre, it boasts clever dialogue, fun performances (particularly Gleeson as the crime boss) and surprisingly off-kilter sources of humor, such as violence in the name of one’s affinity for dogs and dislike for homophobes. Seems a sure bet for small-time US distribution. (B+)

On A Serious Man

I can’t really be trusted when asked for my opinion on a Coen Brothers film. I’m more than a bit biased: for well over a decade, I’ve espoused the belief that they’re the best filmmakers working and I think even their worst movie (yes, The Ladykillers) is still pretty great. That said, even I was surprised at the level to which I was knocked out by their latest, which is supposedly their most personal film. It's about a much put-upon Minnesota university professor (Tony-nominated Michael Stuhlbarg) and how he attempts to grapple with the innumerable trials and tribulations in his life, most prominently via advice from the rabbis in his life.


Man recalls Barton Fink but definitively possesses its own unique identity. The film is consistently very, very funny but proves surprisingly weighty, too. A Serious Man depicts life as basically, ‘one fucking thing after the other,’ and espouses a supremely bleak worldview in an entirely original, oddly moving manner. While it possesses the Coens’ trademark immaculate filmmaking and shot composition, this is probably one of their most esoteric and least commercial films. It’s also, in my opinion, one of their three or four best films and in serious contention for my ‘best movie of the year’ title. (A+)

on George A Romero's Survival of the Dead

I appreciate the effort, but the guy should really give it a rest. I seemed to be one of the few in attendance who thought this was (mildly) more watchable than his last effort, Diary of the Dead. At least it featured a handful of fun, gory moments, and characters I didn’t want to instinctively murder. Overall, I think my reaction can best be summed up by my sold-out midnight audience’s behavior: they gave Romero a standing ovation when he showed up to introduce the film, and shuffled out of the theater as the credits rolled with their heads hung low -- not even bothering to stay for the Q&A with their hero. (C)

Whoa. High praise for the Coen Bros. After No Country For Old Men (my #2 of 2007) and Burn After Reading (#11 of 2008), both top-notch efforts, it's clear that they've jumped whatever hurdle they were struggling to clear in that weird mid-Aughts patch (The Ladykillers, Intolerable Cruelty). Well done.
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