Director/Writer: Martin McDonagh
Starring: Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, Christopher Walken, Woody
Harrelson, Tom Waits, Abbie Cornish, Harry Dean Stanton, Olga Kurylenko, Linda Bright Clay
Plot: Martin (Farrell) is an alcoholic screenwriter whose latest
idea for film called “Seven Psychopaths” is lacking inspiration. His friend
Billy (Rockwell) tries to lend a hand but instead gets him involved in a
kidnapping, murder and the company of psychopaths. Suddenly Marty’s story
starts gaining some frighteningly real inspiration...
Martin McDonagh’s knack for
dialogue has served him well with retaining an audience. It is clear that since
In Bruges, he has become a man people
desperately want to work with. Cut to Seven
Psychopaths four years after In
Bruges and that notion has been substantiated with an all-star cast
including Christopher Walken, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell and Colin Farrell.
Along with a spectacular cast, McDonagh has moved over to the seemingly glamorous
turf of Hollywood, California. His success is well-earned and with his second
directorial feature McDonagh looks to become the new celebrated screenwriter.
Brimming with ideas, Seven Psychopaths is not your average
popcorn movie. Instead, McDonagh crafts a wildly irreverent black-comedy that
proves to be a successful pastiche of the Coen brothers, Quentin Tarantino and
Charlie Kaufman’s style. There is originality within his script and whilst some
may find his muses scattered knowingly throughout the film, McDonagh highlights
his own uniqueness. Inane chit-chat of a Seinfeldian sort is nothing new but
the brazen way in which McDonagh uses it is. For instance, Rockwell’s Billy
constantly speaks of trivial and clandestine affairs as if secrecy is a fabled
idea – regularly mentioning his illegal activity or maniacal alter-ego as if no
one would worry. The same strange openness is also reflect in the criminal
activity with characters sporting guns in public or discussing murders with
total disregard for discretion.
In Bruges handled refinement in the same way, by throwing it out
the window. It makes the films wildly fun and memorable. We are privy to an
alternate way of life where people say and do what they feel. The most appealing
characters are the ones who flaunt their frankness (such as Rockwell, who
outshines everybody in this film) and the opposing conventional ones (like
Farrell) who are of less interest. McDonagh tries not to sour the film with too
much normality, even though it understandably needs to stay grounded from time
to time, and gladly adds a torrent of violence and chaos to keep the momentum
running.
The narrative is relatively
linear but interruptions in the story are superfluous at points. The presentation
of the seven psychopaths is not always etched into the story neatly, leading to
moments of messy punctuation. This issue is partly a result of the
self-reflexive arc that some may find too smart for its own good. McDonagh
wryly makes you aware of the issues in the screenplay but this can be a
dangerous artistic move. Trying to laugh off the inconsistencies does not
negate them completely. Nevertheless, it is a film attempting to bring some ingenuity
to the art form and that should be embraced.
Watching Seven Psychopaths is a hugely fun experience that boasts hilarious
set-pieces and dialogue, along with an astounding ensemble of actors giving it
their all to a project that is clearly exciting and entertaining them as much
as it is the audience. McDonagh packs the film full of energy and moments of
uproarious comedy, giving you incentive to watch it again and again. Problems
do occur in the film such as ideas that may have looked good on the page but
barely work in practice, and an ironic tone that sometimes appears aloof.
Despite this though, McDonagh’s remarkable drive to pull it off makes it a
greatly commendable and magnetic film.
****
By Piers McCarthy. Also posted on LiveForFilms
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