Not just a film about Belgium - FACT

Why do the trailers for some of the best films completely missrepresent what they are all about?

I remember the most amusing example of this being 'Swimming With Sharks', starring Kevin Spacey. It is basically an extremely funny black comendy about working in the film industry. Instead the trailer made it out to be a thriller/crime drama.

'In Bruges' seems to have suffered from a similar thing, although the thriller/crime portion and the comedy portion of this film were conveyed in the trailer, after watching the film I couldn't help feeling that they had again missed the point.

In Bruges is the perfect mix of heartbreak, realism, humour and hope. It has all the elements of the ridiculous to it (racist dwarves and 'alcoves' being just a couple of examples) yet its message of remorse and redemption hits home with a punch, especially thanks to Brendan Gleeson's outstanding performance of a man dealing with the choices he has made in his life.

Colin Farrell gets the showier role in this film, and his character is fabulously annoying and immature throughout the first half, but he fills it admirably. The scene of the two of them in the park is pure class: hard-hitting honesty and humour, without a sugar coating or scrap of schmultz in sight.

Because of the trailer, I found watching the film a strange experience, not least because of the massive co-incidence that I was writing a theology essay, on the themes of violence and redemption in film at the time (see Scorcese's back catalogue for reference). I guess because religious themes just don't sell to the masses, this whole side of the film wasn't included in the trailers so it came as a complete (though very pleasant) surprise.

The Bruges/hell metaphor, although amusing enough on its own, is particularly funny for anyone who has either been, or knows someone who has been to Bruges. My parents have, and its portrayal in this film as a place where people look at medieval stuff, go on canal rides and buy chocolate it so accurate its uncanny, despite coming across as too cliche'd to be true.

If that still doesn't amuse you, Ken's phone call to Harry is one of the finest comedic scenes in recent years, followed immediately by one of the most heartbreaking. It's storytelling genius like this that makes you proud of the British film industry again.

Well, they got it half right....

...and this film certainly isn't gold!

I appreciate that this film was never intended to be serious or groundbreaking, but they could at least have made it good. My main criticism of Fools Gold is that it seems to be in two minds about whether it wants to be a romantic comedy or an action-adventure film, without ever deciding or committing to either.

Everyone knows what's going to happen in a rom-com. They lead guy and the lead girl are going to get together. Hell, it's why we go to see them. The key to making it good is in the suspence, the build up. However the filmmakers have decided to do away with that altogether and Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey get it on just over half way through the film - killing the sexual tension and that subplot off at the same time.

So if creating a successfull rom-com wasn't top of the agend, you would think that making a great adventure film would be.

Apparantly not. The feeble plot (weaker than even 'Sahara') just seems to give up any attempt at credibility towards the end. It almost looks like the writers finished the story and realised they didnt have enough material to fill 90 minutes, so they just kept moving the goalposts (or treasure in this case) in order that the leads had to keep looking. Instead of creating more obstacles on the path to the treasure, they simply made the path longer - filling the time with distance, not substance.

To top it off, Hudson and McConaughey barely keep things afloat in the chemist department either. They sizzled in 'How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days' but here they seem so accutely aware that what they are making is bad that they just haven't bothered to make the effort.

For the everage 12 year old girl, I'm sure they sunny climate and silly action is enough to keep them entertained for the duration, but I doubt even they will remember it in a weeks time.