In Bruges

Sometimes the trailer of a movie just doesn't really do it justice. Sometimes this is because the trailer consists entirely of the good parts of the movie, leading you to think (erroneously) there are more good parts in the whole thing. Sometimes it's because the trailer seems to be for a different movie than the one that is actually made. Sometimes it's because the trailer works so hard at not giving anything away that it actually tells you nothing at all.

The trailer for In Bruges doesn't give anything away - which is good - but it also highlights only a small part of the film. That small part captures the characters in the film very well. But it doesn't capture the delightful black comedy that that the film consists of.

I went to see the film because of Brendan Gleeson and Colin Ferrell. And they were great. But the film itself is more than just a couple of great acting performances. It has you laughing and gasping in horror at your laughter, and then just somberly contemplating the horror, then laughing again. It's an intelligent film with realistic and witty dialogue, but it's the nonverbal acting abilities of its characters that carry it beyond just witty to a truly fascinating film. It's not the most intelligent film I've ever seen, and there are some scenes that left me feeling a bit hollow. But it was definitely worth the price of the ticket (not like Jumper last week that was a slick, swiss cheese plotted affair).

But don't go see it if you don' like black humour.

And don't go see it if you're American and are easily insulted (not that the Canadians fare any better - in fact, I think they come off as much less savory characters than the Americans, but they're at least taken seriously).