Directed by Martin MacDonagh
Starring Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, Christopher Walken, Woody Harrelson, Tom Waits
RATING
7/10
There's no denying that "In Bruges" is one of the funniest movies of all time. Small-time Irish director Martin MacDonagh crafted a piece of work to put most modern "comedies" to shame. It was clever, witty, uproaringly funny, and had quite possibly Colin Farrell's best performance to date. So yeah, I was highly anticipating the release of MacDonagh's next film, titled "Seven Psychopaths". With a cast that included returning comedic force Colin Farell, including Christopher Walken and Sam Rockwell, I didn't see how this could not be anything short of a stroke of genius in the funny element. And what I got was a mostly humorous, but very meditative and eloquantly layered film. Put it this way: it's abou as hit or miss as it's tagline suggests, "They won't take any Shih Tzu."
"Seven Psychopaths" is basically about a down-on-his-luck screenwriter, Marty, who is desperately trying to write the next big Hollywood script, conveniently titled "Seven Psychopaths". However, he has a bit of writer's block, and can't seem to find the motivation to write anything past the title of the screenplay. His best friend, Billy, urges him to dig deeper into the underground world of crime, and Marty hesitantly declines, but is dragged into it anyway when he runs into Billy's missing dog scamming business with Hans, and aging but smart scam artist. But when Billy kidnaps the Shih Tzu of a hot-headed crime boss, he gets him and everyone around him into trouble, including Marty, who may have found inspiration after all.
Firstly, let's talk about where this film succeeds and fires on all cylinders. The cast assembled here is brilliant, and make for some great dialogue-driven scenes. The screenplay is also something noteworthy as it parodies itself plenty of times, and is very self-conscious of the ridiculousness of its premise. And the cast carry the film splendidly, delivering a dosage of harsh cynicism much missing from most dark comedies of today. Woody Harrelson is the hotheaded crime boss missing his Shih Tzu, and even though his character motivation is nothing short of a trainwreck, MacDonagh makes it work and becomes a nice comedic element to the tale. Sam Rockwell as Billy, or otherwise known as the central psychopath, simply dominates. His chemistry with Farrell is really twisted and diabolical, to say the least, but it serves its purpose well once certain revelations are made. Christopher Walken is also another standout, as he brings his usual charm and charisma to the floor. And between him and Rockwell, they have the best lines in the entire film. The comedic timing is impeccable, and all the jokes hit home. Well, most of it, but that's when the film faulters a bit.
The film is basically a two-part series, as it's first rowdy hour deflates for some heavy meditative time. We find the central character's in a rough spot, and the film from then on strays a bit away from the comedy and touches down on drama territory. The characters are more fleshed out, and given some backbone, but all of this at the expense of holding its themes and initial interest. I would say, as much as it's a welcome breath of fresh air for a film as ballsy as this, you know... to have a heart, it strips a few layers off of the "funny" and adds a few more layers of somewhat tedious downtime. Hence the pacing of the film is thrown a bit off-course, and doesn't really capture your attention as much as the first half did. Yeah, it's an unexpected twist of events, but it doesn't mean it completely goes off the rail. The pay-off is very satisfying and makes for an odd but explosive climax.
"Seven Psychopaths" may not be as good as "In Bruges", but it does have plenty of heart and enough crazy and unorthadox comedy to satsify fans of the director. He proves himself a worthy challenger to the likes of Guy Ritchie, and I can only see him delivering some great films in the future. With a stellar cast, perfect comedic timing, and a standout performance from Sam Rockwell, albeit a slightly off-key second half, the film retains it's wit and charm and is a good time.
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