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Martin McDonagh's plays -- The Pillowman, The Lieutenant of Inishmore -- has earned him acclaim in the world of the theater; with In Bruges, McDonagh's moving from the stage to the silver screen in his feature film debut. In Park City, McDonagh spoke with Cinematical about the differences between theater and film, working with Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, and how in some ways having his film as the opening night selection at Sundance " ... would not be my first choice for a weekend away."

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In Bruges, the opening night film at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, comes at you sideways; the opening moments and slick snap of the dialogue lull you into believing that you're in for yet another standard-issue post-Tarantino film. Hit man protagonists; punchy, poppy, profane digressions about everything but the matter at hand that lead to punchy, poppy, profane digressions about the matter at hand; characters whose capacity with vocabulary is matched by their capacity for violence. But then, Martin McDonagh's script moves in unexpected directions - and, more importantly, in unexpected directions which are the kind of unexpected that you do not actually expect. In Bruges, with two killers exiled to Belgium after a badly botched London hit until the heat comes off, turns into something different from the standard-issue post-Tarantino film; it becomes the post-post Tarantino film, one where the talk talk bang bang is actually, just as it was in Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, about something.

In Bruges, in fact, reminded me of nothing less than an earlier excellent example of the post-post-Tarantino film, Christopher McQuarrie's excellent, underrated and under-seen The Way of the Gun. Both are about a group of tough guys who, through extraordinary variations on their normally extraordinary lives, find out precisely how tough they really are, the hard way. Ken (Brendan Gleeson) and Ray (Colin Farrell) are in Bruges, and all of their quibbling about Bruges's scenic destinations and charm is a way for them to talk constantly without actually talking about what they need to talk about -- which is how off-the-charts wrong one of their jobs has gone. They're not on their familiar London turf; they're in, as Ken relates from the guidebook, "The most well-preserved medieval city in Belgium, apparently." Ken is enjoying the trip; Ray is not. "I hated history, didn't you?" Ray asks. "It's all just a load of stuff that's already happened." As McDonagh's script carefully, firmly lays out why Ken and Ray are in exile amid the cobblestone streets and Gothic cathedrals, Ray's desire to avoid thinking about what's already happened becomes completely understandable.

Sundance kicked off this afternoon with the Opening Press Conference, featuring Sundance Film Festival Director Geoffrey Gilmore, the President and Founder of the Sundance Institute, Robert Redford, and In Bruges director Martin McDonagh (not pictured). Redford's opening remarks spoke to the Festival as an agent of -- and subject to -- change. Redford cited the Festival and the Institute's efforts to "create product that is different," while Gilmore noted that in 2008, Sundance has "... more new film makers this year than any since our first."

Gilmore also spoke to the New Frontier and Midnight programmes of the Festival, noting how they, in many ways, represent "the most innovative aspect, the most risk-taking aspect of the Festival." The trio took questions from the audience, including Eugene Hernandez from IndieWire's point-blank question about whether the WGA strike will be putting an added focus on this year's Festival as a possible source of new films for distributors. Redford demurred to Gilmore, who noted how "the film people come to Sundance talking about isn't the film people leave Sundance talking about" and suggesting that over the next ten days, anything could happen. Redford was asked about the politics of the Festival, and if 2008's role as an election year would shine a new light on the films here. Redford pointed out the Festival's long-standing commitment to documentary films as an alternate form of political discourse, and when asked if he was endorsing any specific candidate in 2008, Redford simply answered with a drawn-out and slightly exhausted "Nooooo ..." And with that, Sundance began -- so keep it here at Cinematical during the next ten days for all the coverage you need from Park City.

I have to be honest, I have always had a soft-spot for Colin Farrell and was convinced he could be great in the right role. After watching the trailer for In Bruges, I think this could be the one. Just last week, Peter gave us the heads up that the black comedy had been chosen as the opening night selection for Sundance 2008. Now, a trailer has surfaced and unless you have some headphones at your desk there's no way you're going to be able to watch this one at work ... sorry. Bruges stars Farrell and Brendan Gleeson as two hit-men who are awaiting their contact in a hotel room in Bruges, Belgium. Also starring is Ralph Fiennes, playing very against type as a gangster, and Elizabeth Barrington.

Written and directed by Martin McDonagh, the film is a black comedy with a capital B. Original reports had our two hapless hit-men knocking off a kiddie by mistake and then having to go on the run. By the looks of the trailer though, it seems like there might have been some minor changes. Now, there is no mention of a kid and it looks like the target is a man of the cloth -- which I guess is funnier depending on your sense of humor. So even with my aforementioned bias, I still think this looks like a pretty funny flick. I don't even know all that much about Bruges, but there is one joke that had me almost snorting coffee on the keyboard. Not to mention there are some pretty creative uses of the "F-word" -- and that's just for the trailer. In Bruges will premier at Sundance this January and then a limited release will follow in February. Hopefully the movie will get a wide release sometime in '08.

[via The Movie Blog]

*Update: You can now catch the trailer at the Alliance Films website.

The Sundance Film Festival will open on Thursday, January 17, 2008 with Martin McDonagh's comedy In Bruges, according to Jason Guerrasio of Filmmaker Magazine. McDonagh (pictured) is a playwright whose first foray into filmmaking, Six Shooter, won an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film; In Bruges marks his feature directorial debut. The film stars Ralph Fiennes, Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, who also starred in Six Shooter.

In Bruges is described as a "darkly comic suspense thriller [that] tells the story of hit men Ray and Ken (Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson). After a botched job in London, the team is ordered by their boss Harry (two-time Academy Award nominee Ralph Fiennes) to cool their heels in the storybook city of Bruges, Belgium. Very much out of their comfort zones, the men find themselves drawn into increasingly dangerous entanglements with locals, tourists, and a film shoot. As their stay in Bruges gets weirder, they realize Harry may have other plans for them than a simple vacation."

Martha Fischer first wrote about In Bruges in March 2006, which is when Focus Features made a deal to produce and distribute the film. Monika Bartyzel updated us when the cast was assembled earlier this year. Focus plans to release the film on February 8. Festival openers go down easier when they're a bit light-hearted, and the combination of a new director, stars and a dark comedy sounds ideal. The complete lineup for Sundance will be announced on November 28 and 29; the festival runs from January 17-27. Look for complete coverage right here on Cinematical.

I think I can safely say that Martin McDonagh is well on his way to long-term success in both the theatrical and cinematic worlds. On the one hand, he's the film world's answer to Anderson Cooper, with ashen hair and bright blue eyes, having the goods to give Clooney a run for his money. On the other hand, he's also immensely talented and increasingly successful. He's gone from being nominated for a Best Play Tony Award for both The Beauty Queen of Leenane and The Lonesome West to having his first foray into film, a short called Six Shooter, land him an Academy Award.

As Martha Fischer reported in March, hot off his Oscar win, Focus Features signed on to produce and distribute McDonagh's first feature effort -- In Bruges. The film follows two hitmen, who will be played by the interesting pair of lust bunny Colin Farrell and Professor Alastor 'MadEye' Moody, aka, Brendan Gleeson, who also starred in Six Shooter. After a hard job in London, the pair hide away in the town of Bruges, getting wrapped up in their own ideals, the people who surround them and a film shoot. Casting must have scoured the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire's cast list as both Ralph Fiennes and Clémence Poésy (Fleur Delacour) join Gleeson. The only other non-alum listed is Belgian actor Jérémie Renier. James Schamus, Focus CEO, claims that the script is "both killingly funny and dramatically affecting." Somehow, I'm feeling inclined to believe him.

London-born Irishman Martin McDonagh is best known as the playwright behind The Pillowman and The Beauty Queen of Leenane, both of which have won accolades world-wide. Last Sunday, however, McDonagh's byline changed a bit: he's now an Oscar winner, too. Having always been inspired by cinema, he picked up a camera last year and made Six Shooter, a little picture that just happened to win him a gold man for best live-action short - not to mention a deal for his first feature.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Focus Features has agreed to both produce and distribute McDonagh's full-length debut. The film, entitled In Bruges, tells the story of two hitmen who, after accidentally killing a child (hate it when the happens), hide out in Bruges, Belgium. Oh, and the screenplay? McDonagh wrote it. Yeah, he's one of those freaks of nature who is so talented that just reading about him leaves 95% of humanity with significantly diminished self-esteem. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go eat some paste.