Seven Psychopaths Review

• 2nd Dec 2012

Martin McDonagh’s follow up feature to In Bruges finds the director (and a returning Colin Farrell) in another world of killers, OTT violence and commentary on the violent world we live in. Such is the joy of Seven Psychopaths

Marty (Farrell) is a drunk, struggling writer who has an idea for his new script (the titular psychopaths), but does not have any clue what to fill the pages with. Enter best friend Billy (Sam Rockwell) who gives him a few pointers along the way. Billy it has to be pointed out has a side line in kidnapping rich people’s dogs and having his cohort, the equally unbalanced Hans (Christopher Walken) return them for a cash reward.

When Billy and Hans kidnap the dog of local nut case Charlie (Woody Harrelson) they bite off more than they can chew when Charlie goes on a manhunt for them, forcing the trio to hit the road. And so the road trip becomes a bit of a tripped out journey of he mind, exploring the rights and wrongs of morality, the impact of violence, and in search of the right ending to Marty’s screenplay. Juxtaposing something neutral with the overly bombastic; the world they inhabit is full of real life killers, mythical characters and those of legend, all used in Martin’s warped mind.

The film cleverly balances the often bloody violence with the talky nature of the characters. Marty wants his screenplay to be more of a talking picture without resorting to any violence commonly associated with typical Hollywood films (which indeed reflects his character); whereas his friends have other ideas about how it should end – highlighted to hilarious effect when billy tried to take over the narrative.

The film does get tied up in a few knots along the way – often making choices that seem quite random and for the sake of it, but the lead performances are so strong and often hilarious. Christopher Walken looked like he was going to walk away with this film (and very nearly does), but Sam Rockwell deserves top honours for his completely unhinged performance as Billy. This is not one you are likely to forget anytime soon, but likely to talking ecstatically about with friends afterwards.

Steven Hurst