Review of Seven Psychopaths (2012) by Ben B — 28 Jun 2016

Seven Psychopaths is a dark comedy starring Colin Farrell as Marty, an alcoholic screenwriter trying to work on his latest idea for a film (Seven Psychopaths) while dealing with a struggling relationship and issues with his friend Billy (played by Sam Rockwell).

As soon as this movie begins, we get a taste of McDonagh's witty dialogue and comically dark tone. Two mobsters are debating the plausibility of shooting somebody in the eyeball when the Jack O' Diamonds killer (one of the psychopaths) comes up behind them and shoots both in the head. It had a very Quentin Tarantino feel to it, and the tone stayed fairly consistent in this sense. The movie lost a little bit of steam towards the end of the middle act-beginning of the final act, but I was engaged overall with this movie.

This movie has some really great performances. Sam Rockwell was definitely my favorite part of the movie, and Christopher Walken delivered a very subtle yet memorable character as Rockwell's partner-in-crime with a troubled past. At first, I was really annoyed by Farrell's character, but, as we got to see more of him, he really grew on me. The one character that really didn't work was Woody Harrelson as the antagonist. Due to "creative differences" Mickey Rourke, who was originally cast to play the role, dropped out, so Harrelson had to really jump in and deliver. Unfortunately, you can tell that he came in to this movie late; his performance felt very unnatural.

Overall, Seven Psychopaths is a great bit of fun. At a run-time of under two hours, it's definitely a movie worth watching with a group of friends on movie night. The thematic elements subtly come through to deliver a good message behind the bloody fun. Go check this one out - you won't be disappointed!