In Bruges is a 2008 black comedy-drama crime thriller film[4] directed and written by Martin McDonagh in his feature-length debut.

It stars Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson as two London-based Irish hitmen hiding in Bruges, with Ralph Fiennes as their boss.

For his performance in the film, Farrell won the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, while Gleeson was nominated in the same category.

[10] Carrying out orders, inexperienced hitman Ray shoots a priest during confession, but accidentally kills a young boy standing behind him.

Ray effortlessly disarms the small-time criminal and fires the gun, loaded with blanks, in Eirik's face, blinding him in one eye.

He and Ken spend a debauched night with the dwarf actor, Jimmy, who takes cocaine and rants about a coming war between blacks and whites.

With a handgun supplied by Harry's local contact Yuri, Ken tracks Ray to a park and reluctantly prepares to kill him.

Seeing this, Ken stops Ray, informs him of Harry's order and tells him to leave Bruges to have a fresh start.

Ray is carried through the movie set and watches the other characters pass by (Chloë, Marie and Eirik) as he is loaded into an ambulance.

[13] All music is composed by Carter Burwell, except where notedIn Bruges was released in limited cinemas on 8 February 2008 and opened in 28 theatres in the United States.

The website's critical consensus reads: "Featuring witty dialogue and deft performances, In Bruges is an effective mix of dark comedy and crime thriller elements.

Club gave the film an "A−", praising the performances of the main cast: "Farrell, having successfully made the transition from overexposed-yet-underutilized action-thriller star to one-film-a-year artiste, gets a lot to work with, and he sells it all flawlessly, moving convincingly from offhanded, prickly asshole mode to nervous young lover to disintegrating martyr," and that "then again, all the leads are perfectly cast, and they help turn a light farce with thriller overtones into something deeper and sweeter."

"[24] Claudia Puig of USA Today gave the film three and a half stars out of four and praised the two leads, stating that "Brendan Gleeson is brilliant as Ken … along with his partner in crime, Ray, played by Colin Farrell in probably his best performance."

"[25] Damon Wise of Empire magazine gave the film four out of five stars, writing that "with In Bruges, the British gangster movie gets a Croydon facelift.

"[26] John Anderson of The Washington Post gave the film a positive review, writing that "those who know McDonagh's work know a vein of darkness will run deeply through the comedy.

He's a terrific character actor, and he can go to low places that suave heroes can't risk, like anguish, self-hatred, embarrassment, utter confusion and buffoonery."

"[28] Dana Stevens of Slate magazine also praised the performances of the two leads: "Farrell, who just played a remarkably similar tortured killer for hire in Woody Allen's Cassandra's Dream, finds just the right tone for this twitchy, funny, emotionally volatile thug; for once, he seems to know exactly what movie he's in.

So does Brendan Gleeson, the big, shambling, sad-eyed Irish actor known to American audiences mainly for his role in the last two Harry Potter movies."

"[30] Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a "C+", indicating a mixed review; she praised McDonagh's directing, stating that "he's a specialist in constructing satisfying, live-wire dramas of violence that crash up against despair, in upending his characters' miseries with moments of twisted humor, and in sustaining a writing voice that roars with a particularly Irish robustness of obscenity."

"[31] Ella Taylor of Village Voice also gave the film a mixed review, stating that "Bruges may be the movie's rather too-long-running joke, but Farrell's shaggy brow is easily the most entertaining thing in Irish playwright Martin McDonagh's first foray into the crime caper.

[36] The film was also nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy, and both Brendan Gleeson and Colin Farrell were nominated for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy,[37] which Farrell won at the 66th Golden Globe Awards ceremony, broadcast on 11 January 2009.