Seven Psychopaths

Martin McDonagh’s 2008 hit In Bruges has (unfairly or not) placed a level of expectancy on Seven Psychopaths. Though seemingly similar in DNA (and sharing one of Bruges main performers in the shape of Colin Farrell) this is more Tarantino-esque in its execution (and there’s quite a few of them as well in this film, Boom Boom) with a hint of Shane Black thrown in. The good news, despite this being somewhat disjointed, is that McDonagh’s script avoids the smugness that is always at the edge of Black’s output. In respect of the actual story that McDonagh has penned it’s too far out there to explain in too much detail, but the main focus is on Marty Faranan (Farrell), a scriptwriter who is struggling to finish his latest offering, Seven Psychopaths. Throw in Sam Rockwell as a highly strung kidnapper of dogs, Christopher Walken playing, well, Christopher Walken, Woody Harrelson as a violent gangster and Tom Waits as a serial killer and you can already probably guess some of the mayhem that ensues. It’s probably just a little bit too out there for its own good, but the positive that does bring is that you genuinely don’t know what is going to happen next. It should be remembered that McDonagh is primarily a playwright, so we probably can forgive him for branching out and writing something that is less structured than a board’s production, or indeed, Bruges. As mentioned earlier the comparison with Tarantino is particularly evident in the idiosyncratic characters that McDonagh has created and the acting is good across the board, but it appears Walken was the only one to really understand the tone that McDonagh was aiming for. If you like your claret there’s plenty of that here as well, including the craziest head explosion (albeit comic) since The Proposition. It’s throw away fun all in all and I doubt you’ll go back for further viewings, especially as the plot peters out long before the end. Even if this doesn’t float your boat you can’t deny it has a cracking tag line (“They won’t take any Shih Tzu”) and you can also try and see if you can spot Crispin Glover in a cameo.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict

Not quite the cult hit of Bruges and some parts should have been jettisoned in the edit, but this has plenty of ideas, underpinned by some good performances from the cast. Rating: 7/10.