Belgian style

An interview with In Bruges director Martin McDonagh. (IFC News)

Q: When you decided the characters would be hit men, were you concerned that the "soulful hit man" movie has been done to death in the last decade or longer?

A: I think part of the idea was to set up that "it's a cool hit man movie" fish-out-of-water story that we've seen before, but then try to subvert that, and take it into territory that's a lot darker, more despairing, or sadder than most "soulful hit man" films ever really go to. Guilt and sin are addressed, but it's more of a lapsed Catholic take on it, you know? It has the balance of the comedy, but I think the sadder place it goes to is what makes this different.