Martin McDonagh (of In Bruges fame) is on a one man mission to conquer the niche oddball but clever comedy film market it seems. Reuniting with his former man in Belgium Colin Farrell (Total Recall) he brings us a tale of a scriptwriter with a case of writer’s block whilst blending together two genres, and relying on manic and schizoid characters to help in a convulsive yet wearisome tale.
Struggling writer Marty (Farrell) is in need of inspiration to finish off his film script. He only has a title, ‘Seven Psychopaths’, but his actor and dog-napping mate Billy (Sam Rockwell, Iron Man 2) is more than happy to help with ideas of psychos for Marty’s script. However, when one of the dogknappings involves stealing crime boss Charlie Costello’s (Woody Harrelson, Rampart) Shitzu, Billy’s partner Hans (Christopher Walken, Balls Of Fury) suffers, and the three decide to make the trip out into the desert to give Marty all the inspiration he needs.
Farrell’s character might as well be called Colin Farrell for the most part considering all Marty’s traits are that he’s Irish and he drinks heavily. He’s also a nice enough guy, but he has a small mean streak which comes out at his girlfriend’s birthday party. Whilst the film is slightly autobiographical in terms of McDonagh’s thoughts on script writing and motivation, the self insertion just about comes off with Farrell’s charm carrying him through a role which would make anyone else seem weak.
I’d like to rave at how good Rockwell is as Billy, but you can have too much of a good thing and Billy is a prime example of it. As the slackerish dogknapper who cracks one liners and is genuinely nuts he is entertaining (who would honestly call his best mate’s missus a bitch to her face and think he’ll be fine?). However, as the film goes on you become more and more worn out by the ridiculous amount of screen time, and lack of subtlety, Billy has; he’s almost like a child with ADHD, showing no signs of slowing down, and growing awfully tiresome.
Walken is his usual self with his captivating look and voice which is still miles better than most actors around today. As the sympathetic Hans, he never fails to keep audiences engaged at any point in the film whilst delivering some of the film’s best dialogue exchanges. Harrelson is in the same boat, and is not disappointing at all as Costello; he is simply a man who wants his dog back at any cost, and it just so happens said man is also a ruthless, horrible, gangster. It must be said that Seven Psychopaths also contains the best delivery of any line ever, by any actor, in the cemetery shootout dream sequence.
Despite promising an ensemble cast, it’s one or two roles short of being brilliant. Don’t get me wrong – as well as the big four leads above, musician Tom Waits (Book Of Eli) is gripping as the mentally unhinged ex-serial killer serial killer Rigby (who carries around his white rabbit to cope with his split from his wife), but it feels like there was someone missing from proceedings all the time, and that’s not a feeling you should get from a cast this promising.
There’s not really any good strong females roles either, apart from Linda Bright Clay as Hans’ sick wife Myra (who conveys some genuine emotion on screen in a rather hard to watch scene at a hospital), as Abbie Cornish (Limitless) and Olga Kurylenko (Quantum Of Solace) are relegated to girlfriends/sex partners with about five lines of dialogue between them, and about two minutes of screentime tops. There is a reflecting line inserted into the film by McDonagh which makes a joke about this. It’s meant to be tongue in cheek but it just highlights how obvious, how off-putting, and how misogynistic Psychopaths appears.
Psychopaths is presented to us as a comedy and it delivers some great laughs but what you won’t realise at first at how many different styles are crammed in; we have slapstick, black comedy, intelligent; and it’s a seamless mix which comes off extraordinarily well. However, there is a lot of repetition of the same jokes over and over and over again. It’s not so much a running joke in places, more like a bloody triathlon of laboured, tortured, clichés. “Marty has a drinking problem and is Irish! Hahaha!” Copy and paste that 100 times into the script and that’s Psychopaths.
Most of the plot reflects back on itself in almost a ‘film within a film’ style; with characters coming up for ideas for Marty’s script which then happen, giving him the inspiration. When I say ideas, I of course mean participate in last stand shoot outs, reunite lost psychopathic lovers and refer to what’s going to happen later in the film. There is some ambitious and layered filmmaking here which should be encouraged, and McDonagh deserves kudos for that, but it felt like it was being really clever with itself, and had a pretentious, self-satisfied, feeling throughout the runtime. Granted, a lot of films in similar veins come off like this, but it sticks out like a sore thumb, and feels like McDonagh is saying “ooo, look how clever I am, making you laugh at my masterpiece, because of all the different aspects I thought of. I’ve even told you the end of the film and you’re still enjoying yourself!”
There’s an aura of unpredictability with many genres of films being smushed together quite well; it has great crime, thriller, and horror elements, and the comedy thread holds them all together in a good balance. You have no idea where the film is going since we’re dealing with multiple genres, and when you consider it pretty much tells you what’s going to happen later on, it’s quite an achievement just how engaging it is throughout; so ignore the smug feeling surrounding it, as Seven Psychopaths is a fresh breath, and there isn’t a great deal to compare it too.
It does limp to the end rather than finish strong (it’s all focused on a stand off over the Shitzu to give Marty a focus on how to finish the book), and the trouble is you’ve seen so many crazed, random, and spastic elements you’re left bored, tiresome, and feeling eager to get to the credits. Billy could have had more substance in the end, as it becomes clear that it’s more about the characters than the actual plot, and Seven Psychopaths has a Quentin Tarantino-style feel to proceedings; in a overly cartoonish world of style-over-substance.
Seven Psychopaths is a highly enjoyable, and likeable enough, but when you get through the dropping form of the film to the credits, you will feel like Martin McDonagh has played a joke on you. Some taming of arrogant elements, better cast focus, and reducing overbearing characters, and we would have had a real winner here. Sadly, it’s only rather good. Nice try Martin. Keep going.
Terry Lewis – @thatterrylewis.
