Seven Psychopaths

My Grade:  A-

According to IMDB.com, Seven Psychopaths is about “a struggling screenwriter [who] inadvertently becomes entangled in the Los Angeles criminal underworld after his oddball friends kidnap a gangster’s beloved Shih Tzu.”  How could I not want to see that?!  Especially when the cast is so great... Colin Farrell, Christopher Walken, Woody Harrelson, and more!  Needless to say, I had high hopes for this one.  It didn’t quite live up to them, but it was pretty darn close.

The writer/director of this film the guy that won an Oscar for one of my favorite short films ever (“Six Shooter”), Martin McDonagh.  He went on to write and direct the quirky hitman film In Bruges which got him a nomination for Best Original Screenplay.  What sets his films apart is a razor sharp, darkly comedic wit that will make you laugh at the things you probably shouldn’t be laughing at.  Seven Psychopaths is no different.  What’s even better in this film, though, is that he uses the screenplay within the screenplay that Marty (Colin Farrell) is writing to comment on the movie itself.  One of these moments is when Hans is reading Marty’s script.  He mentions how weak the female characters are and that they either die really quickly or are obviously about to die.  That’s exactly how Seven Psychopaths is.  So it’s hard to tell if McDonagh meant for his female characters to weak, or he just noticed that they are so he threw that jab in there... brilliant, witty Englishman.

This film, witty as it may be, takes a while to get going.  Until I really got to know the characters and realized what was going on between Marty’s script and the movie, I thought the film was iffy at best.  Once I got into the middle of it all, though, I realized how smart this film truly is.  I really don’t want to ruin the plot or anything as some of the characters aren’t really who you might think they are, so I am going to move on from the plot; however, it is very engaging and takes some chances to comment on the action genre as a whole as it goes.

What really makes this film stand out is Woody Harrelson’s performance as Charlie.  Charlie is the psychopath (I forget which number) that gets his dog stolen.  He is your stereotypical gangster in that he has a slew of henchmen and is brutally set on his goal.  His goal, however, sets him apart from any stereotypes:  getting his dog back.  It’s a great paradox that this tough, brutal guy is tough and brutal because of his childlike love for his cute little puppy.  He also has a handful of other quirks that make him quite the memorable bad guy.  I could write all day about the great acting in this film, but I’m not going to (you’re welcome).  I do have to mention an epic monologue by Sam Rockwell, though.  Billy (Rockwell), Marty, and Hans (Walken) are all sitting around a fire in the desert one night talking about Marty’s script.  Billy starts to describe the epic ending he has written for Marty’s movie which features a shootout in a cemetery.  You have to see this thing to believe it.  He is so into it as he tells it and the movie flashes between him telling it and it actually happening... it’s a brilliant segment of the film.

Overall, it’s almost unfair how sharp and witty Seven Psychopaths is.  “It has layers” as Hans says in the film (and the trailers).  It does take a little bit to get into the story and realize what McDonagh is doing to your mind, but it works.  It kinda makes you like these guys... even though they’re psychopaths (which is mentioned a number of times in the film).