Zero and Wiz RECOMMEND In Bruges

Part pulpy crime story, part morality play with a crass, blackened humorist tinge, In Bruges is a film that is a hilariously dark with a surprisingly sweet aftertaste.

Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson carry a curse-laden, non politically correct yarn about two hit men waiting for their next assignment while they discuss what happened in the last contract.

The film has a back and forth to it that is somewhat surprising but is effective when it sticks to the core of salty, bruising humor.

Farrell plays Ray as a young man who has had enough and doesn't care who hears it. He's impulsive, distraught and a loose cannon (in more ways than one). Farrell plays him with an unsettled vibrancy that is arresting to watch while he's talking about midgets and retards with reckless abandon, not caring who hears it.

And Gleeson's straight man performance is well fit: he provides a centering of the story that is charming to watch.

And when the film sticks with The Odd Couple meets Grosse Point Blank, In Bruges has a lot of great lines and ludicrous laughs from the characters they engage with.

But then, the film starts to go from dark comedy to dark dramedy and it slips ever so slightly.

When it's revealed what happened in the last contract, the film takes on a more serious tone that tries to give the film a more dramatic edge but largely feels uneven.

This is mainly because the film doesn't exactly pivot to a drama but instead just sprinkles it into the dark humor.

Maybe I'm wrong on this, but it felt like the film wanted us to feel for Ray and his problems, but it's fairly hard to do that since the film wants to laugh at him as well, which doesn't feel quite earned.

But then the best performance of the film enters and that's Ralph Fiennes. Fiennes plays a foul mouthed, quick tempered crime boss incredibly well whether he is yelling uproarious insults or looking intense into the eyes of a person he's angry with. It's a small role, but it has one of Fiennes best performances.

When In Bruges sticks to the dark and foul humor, it is a hilarious time. Al three main actors do a great job with the comedy as well as the crime elements.

But the film does falter when it tries to be a little more serious.

And while that is a small portion of the film, it's a sticking point in what could have been an absolute favorite of mine.

But even so, it's a hilariously dark good time.