In the third weekend in January the population of this small town in Utah mushrooms from a year-round average of 7,000 to more than 50,000. With fewer than half that many beds available to visitors there is a whiff of hysteria in the air, and tickets for the screenings are even harder to come by.

In part this may be down to the writers’ strike in Hollywood: there are no deals being done there, and the usual Sundance throng of industry professionals is bigger than normal to make sure that there is a steady flow of product in the future.

But while the Americans wrestle with the writers, it is the Britons who are out in unprecedented force here. We even claimed the opening night gala with In Bruges, the first feature film from Martin McDonagh, the London-born playwright who is renowned for his savagely funny plays The Pillowman, The Lieutenant of Inishmore and The Beauty Queen of Leenane.

Bruges: the complete guide

Gareth Scurlock's guide to the city and locations from the film starring Colin Farrell and Ralph Fiennes

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A Film4 production, In Bruges won’t win any prizes for originality, but it was a popular choice with the first-night audience crowded into the biggest venue of Park City, a lecture theatre in the high school. They even laughed at the ugly American jokes. It probably helped that Colin Farrell showed up to give them a wave from the stage, alongside his co-star Brendan Gleeson.

Farrell plays Ray, a twitchy hitman who has been ordered to take refuge in Bruges with his more experienced partner, Ken (Gleeson), after their latest assignment goes wrong. While Ken falls for the charms of the medieval city, the younger man has a less favourable take on Belgium in general and Bruges in particular. It is only when he bumps into Chloë (Clémence Poésy) that Ray begins to enjoy himself.

McDonagh slaps together scorching invective and odd-couple comedy with bursts of violence and melancholy contemplation. Nobody quite goes so far as to order a royale with cheese, but the spirit of Quentin Tarantino, who is president of the Sundance Film Festival jury this year, is never far away. Ralph Fiennes shows up late in the film, as if to demonstrate how well he can play a scary London gangster.

The killers are not remotely plausible, so McDonagh’s stab at exploring guilt, honour and redemption feels more than a little forced. Nevertheless, there are diverting and unexpected episodes and Gleeson gives a luminous portrait that deserves a more coherent frame than this.

In Bruges is scheduled for release in Britain on April 11.

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