YMMV / In Bruges

• Alternative Character Interpretation:
  • It's a fairly popular interpretation that Harry may have been molested by a priest when he was younger (though the priest at least didn't; he was killed for interfering in a housing project). He's very protective towards children, hates priests, and loves Bruges because he spent the last happy vacation of his childhood there.
  • Is Harry a surprisingly noble and fair gangster with his own ethical code, or is he arguably just as guilty as Ray? After all, he never acknowledges that it was his own orders that ultimately resulted in the boy's tragic death.
  • Is Jimmy claiming that his racist comments were just "cocaine talk" him explaining away genuinely harmless nonsense he said while high, or him trying to brush off a hideous aspect of his personality which he unintentionally revealed to Ray and Ken?
• Crosses the Line Twice: It's a pretty dark movie, so this is the prime source of humour.
  • "A lot of midgets tend to kill themselves".
  Chloë: He doesn't like being called a midget. He prefers dwarf.
  Ray: This is exactly my point! People going around calling you a midget when you want to be called a dwarf. Of course you're going to blow your head off.
  • Ray offends Chloe by telling her that Bruges is a shithole.
  Chloë: It's not a shithole!
  Ray: What? Even midgets have to take drugs to stick it.
  Chloë: Okay. So, you've insulted my home town. You were doing really well, Raymond. Why don't you tell me some Belgium jokes while you're at it?
  Ray: Don't know any Belgium jokes, and if I did I think I'd have the good sense not to... hang on. Is Belgium with all those child abuse murders lately? I do know a Belgium joke. What's Belgium famous for? Chocolates and child abuse, and they only invented the chocolates to get to the kids.
  • Ray calls Chloe's lowlife boyfriend various homophobic slurs. When the same guy meets with Harry, Harry does the same thing.
  • Ray killing a child? Horrifying. Ray picking up a note the child was holding noting the reasons he, the child, was feeling repentant and praying ("doing bad at math" and "feeling sad")? Hilarious.
    • Even funnier? Said child is none other than Theo Stevenson, who would later star as Horrid Henry in the film adaptation a few years later, in other words? Ray killed none other than Horrid Henry himself.
• Ensemble Dark Horse: Yuri, an eccentric gun dealer with an odd demeanour and an obsession with "zee alcoves."
• Everyone Is Jesus in Purgatory: Word of God confirms it: Harry and Ray are (not literally) in purgatory, awaiting their judgement and deciding between good and evil.
  • "Maybe that's what Hell is, an entire eternity spent in fucking Bruges."
• Fan-Preferred Cut Content: The deleted scene where the hitmen discuss why Harry wanted the priest murdered is interesting enough that some fans wish it had stayed in.
• He Really Can Act: Colin Farrell. So notable that it won him a (very unexpected) Golden Globe for Best Actor.
• Heartwarming Moments: "Well I can't shoot you now, can I?" Of course, it goes to hell soon after that.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: Alfred wants to kill The Penguin over a botched assasination on Steppenwolf.
• Hollywood Homely: "I knew it! I just knew someone like you would never like someone like me!", says a male character to a cute girl who robs tourists. This character is portrayed by Colin Farrell. Played for Laughs, probably.
• Jerkass Woobie: Ray is Jerkass and an (unintentional) child murderer, but his deep remorse over the latter action and his desire for death make him rather sympathetic. Not to mention that he witnesses the deaths of Ken, Jimmy (and even crawled to his corpse) and Harry (after he shot him multiple times).
  • Jimmy. He can be a jerk, especially to Ray (although Ray was as much of a jerk to him) but when he sees him injured at his film set he immediately goes to help him which sadly gets him killed.
• Magnificent Bastard: Ken Daley is an art-loving older hitman working for his best friend Harry Waters. Ordered to kill the younger assassin Ray after the latter accidentally kills a child, Ken finds himself bonding with Ray. Determining to save Ray after finding out he's suicidal, Ken sets up Ray's escape by train and chooses to face Harry himself. When Ray is sent back to Bruges by Belgian authorities, Ken gives his own life to distract Harry, giving Ray a fighting chance and ultimately renewing his will to live.
• Memetic Mutation:
  • "YOU'RE AN INANIMATE FACKIN' OBJECT!" is how it's now usually rendered.
  • "They're filming midgets!"
• Moment of Awesome: So Ray's experiencing Coitus Interruptus because of Chloe's ex, Eirik, attempting to rob him at gunpoint. After disarming him, he's told the gun held only blanks, and Eirik's now pulled out a real knife. What's Ray to do? Answer: wait for Eirik to get closer then shoot the blank in front of his eyes, effectively blinding him.
• Periphery Demographic: Brendan Gleeson, Ralph Fiennes, Clémence Poésy and Ciarán Hinds were all in Harry Potter, with Colin Farrell also having a role in the prequel/spinoff Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. So understandibly, quite a few In Bruges fans would also be fans of Harry Potter.
• Retroactive Recognition: Matt Smith was cast as the younger Harry in a deleted scene. Robbie Kay also played an even younger Harry in another deleted scene. Denise, the prostitute hired by Jimmy the dwarf, is played by Anna Madeley, much loved as Mrs Audrey Hall, Team Mom and The Heart of All Creatures Great & Small (2020).
  • As mentioned before, the kid Ray kills is none other than Theo Stevenson, who would later get recognition in Horrid Henry: The Movie as the titular character and in Millie Inbetween as Craig.
• Ugly Cute: This dog.
• The Woobie: That poor child Ray accidentally shot.

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