Seven Psychopaths (2012)

JohnnyTwoToes loves this witty British Black Comedy!

First off let us not get confused like I almost did. I watched Seven Psychopaths MICHAEL McDONAGH's second feature length big time film since the odd but entertaining In Bruges (2008). This is NOT the same JOHN Michael McDonagh that recently directed the fantastic The Guard (2011) with Brendon Gleeson. 

I almost made the mistake of thinking both the McDonagh's was one and the same person and he had dropped his first name when he became a little more famous. "Since it is John he had better not," I mused. 

Having relieved my self of that error let me just say there are two McDonagh's and they are indeed brothers. Both are very gifted in writing and directing. Hopefully we will see more of their work in the future. Martin McDonagh's Seven Psychopaths is an eccentric and very dryly humorous film that tells the story of a screenwriter (Colin Farrell) who is a heavy drinker and in the middle of writers block. His new script for a project aptly titled Seven Psychopaths seems to have come out of the gates with nowhere to run. 

His friends, Hans (Christopher Walken) and Billy(Sam Rockwell) have a little side business where they kidnap peoples dogs, keep them until they see a sizable reward for the lost canines and return them for the reward. Pretty neat, huh? I guess in L.A. you can make a living doing just about ANYTHING. 

When the two kidnap a Shih Tzu that just so happens to belong to Charlie (Woody Harrelson), a local but powerful gangster. There is a sweet subplot about Hans wife who is in the hospital with cancer and it is subtly and quietly handled when Hans and Myra (Lind Bright Clay) are on screen. They talk to each other like married people would talk to but the scenes are not forced and the writing is not heavy handed. Less is more in scenes like this and Martin McDonagh writes it very well. 

The rest of the cast is phenomenal  as well. Sam Rockwell (one of my favorites) could pick up just about any film and carry it to the finish line (the exception is Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy (2005). But NOBODY could have saved that piece of crap). Rockwell and Walken are hilarious as they play off of each other and Colin Farrell shows he has some comic timing and garners some chuckles, too. Harrelson is always solid and his Charley is a vicious hood but still loves his doggy. 

Seven Psychopaths is not a slapstick comedy so don't think you are watch a guy fall down a flight of stairs into some paint. It is a complex comedy, with an interesting array of characters and they are interwoven into an interesting and eclectic story. Martin McDonagh has an eye and an ear for dialogue. He knows how people act with one another and how they can react to one another, too. I dare say he is Tarantinoish in how he creates dialogue. 

All said and done, Seven Psychopaths is not for everyone, but if you enjoyed In Bruges (also with Colin Farrell) and The Guard then Seven Psychopaths is just right for you. Seven Psychopaths ***1/2 out of 4