I approached Martin McDonagh’s In Bruges under the guise of complete ignorance. I couldn’t have even told you the genre of the film prior to seating myself in the cinema, let alone divulge a basic plot outline. The opening montage of brooding Gothic architecture, juxtaposed with a hauntingly bare piano composition, gave me the impression I was about to endure through a profoundly morose drama. However, I couldn’t have been more wrong. If you are just as oblivious to the nature of this film as I was, then stop reading right now and, as long as you are not easily offended, just go see this truly special film. The supreme unexpectedness of In Bruges works towards proving that ignorance really is bliss.

Ever since director Christopher Nolan hit the mainstream with tremendous success of The Dark Knight, becoming the household name that he rightfully deserves to be, I have been forced to look for a new upcoming director to rave about to the blissfully ignorant in order to feed my obnoxious cinematic ego. Just as the credits began to roll in the neo-noir thriller Transsiberian, and Brad Anderson’s name discretely crept up the screen, I realised that my search was already over. Anderson is, or at least is on his way to becoming, the next Nolan. If 2004′s The Machinist was Anderson’s Memento, then Transsiberian is his answer to Nolan’s Insomnia. Sure, both of Nolan’s films are superior to Anderson’s counterparts, but it’s undeniable that the two directors share a similar aptitude towards, and appreciation of, the thriller genre. Which is a sizeable compliment, Mr. Anderson, if there ever was one.