In Bruges, Or Father Ted By Any Other Name…

THERE ARE MANY words and expressions I could use to describe this film; darkly funny, twisted, unsettling, poignant in parts obvious in others, outrageous, anti-American, politically incorrect, mad… but I have to admit having seen it yesterday and had time to reflect upon it overnight I think the one overwhelming thing that strikes me is the amazing resemblence that “In Bruges” has to “Father Ted” and the lads from Craggy Island.

Before I get into that I suppose I’d better do the usual summary for anyone out there (living under a rock) who doesn’t know about this film yet. The basic plot revolves around a couple of Irish hit men who have to cool their jets “In Bruges” and wait for further instructions after a hit goes terribly wrong. That’s not exactly everything that’s going on in the film, but it’s close. The plot is quite simple and the pretext is obvious, hell the ending is even obvious, but the fun is how we get there via the two central characters/hitmen in Ray (Colin Farrell) and Ken (Brendan Gleeson). It’s easy to assume the lads were just told to turn up, drink beer and shoot from the hip with this movie because the performances are so effortless, Irish to the core and great fun (especially the seemingly endless politically incorrect situations and conversations) and inevitably (it is irish after all) the film is a darkly comedic tale of retribution and redemption.

It’s the characters of Ken and Ray that make this film worth every cent/penny/dollar. The interaction between the younger, slightly simple but enthusuastic Ray and the older, wiser and worldly Ken are just a joy to behold. Let’s face it, any film with manky hookers, coke, midgets, irish lads on the lash, political incorrectness, gun play and blood is a winning combination!

But the one thing that sticks with me after the film is how close the relationship between Ken and Ray is to the - now legendary - relationship between Father Ted and Father Dougal on Craggy Island. If you don’t know what “Father Ted” is then you really have been living under a huge rock - it’s one of the most original, irreverent and funniest comedies to have come out of Ireland in the 1990s about the trials and tribulations of two catholic priests on a remote island off the cost of Ireland. It was hugely contentious because it was taking the piss out of the clergy, but it’s success rested on the performances of two central characters - Father Ted and Father Dougal - and you should go buy whatever DVDs or download whatever episodes you can because this is legendary comedy at it’s best.

So how the hell did I make the leap from “In Bruges” to “Father Ted”?…

When I consider “In Bruges” and strip away the persona and the situations in this film, the character of Ken is basically an unsure kid trapped inside an adult body, with the emotional maturity of an eight year old and the attention span of a slightly slow goldfish… but Colin Farrell nails this performance and no matter how outrageous it gets, it’s still fun to watch.

In other words Ray might as well be Father Dougal, even some of the facial expressions are the same, so much so that I wonder if he actually modelled his character on Dougal. That would be an interesting thing to discover via the ‘behind the scenes’ stuff on the eventual DVD I suppose.

And as for Brendan Gleeson - the hardest working supporting actor in the business - he turns in a fantastic performance as usual, but actually gets us to invest in his character and the decisions he has to make within the plotline. It’s here that the similarity to Craggy Island kicks in, it’s Father Ted all over again, well intentioned, slightly slippery, manacled to a younger apprentice who needs to have every thing explained to him and constantly looking for ways to keep things normal, to keep it all going along the way it should… which of course is impossible.

I suppose I could liken the character of “Harry” played by Ralph Fiennes to that of Bishop Len at a stretch, but I’m buggered if I can find a Father Jack reference… still I stick by my assertion that the way Farrell and Gleeson interact is pretty much exactly the way things went in Father Ted, which is not a bad thing to be honest.

This is a great film, not Oscar material and not without it’s challenges, but hell I don’t think I’ve laughed out loud as hard in a long time and if you like your comedy dark and your humour politically incorrect then this is the film for you.

One serious recommendation though.. go and see this in the cinema, preferably with some Irish friends if you can. Do not wait for this to hit the DVD shelves or see it for the first time on a download, because you will miss the sheer joy of the audience reaction in the cinema to the rapidly escalating situations and insanity.

Whether or not you see it again in the privacy of your own home is up to you, but I will certainly be adding this one to the DVD collection when it’s released.

The thing is… I wonder if it’s just me or did anyone else notice the similarity between “In Bruges” and “Father Ted”?

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