Review of Seven Psychopaths (2012) by Allan C — 05 Jul 2015

I guess Martin McDonagh just doesn't click for me. I've started his first film "In Bruges" a couple times, but just haven't been able to get into it. This film similarly seemed overly talking and precious and didn't really grab me either, although this film featured a huge cast of characters played by a number of cool actors, including Colin Farrell, Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Christopher Walken, Harry Dean Stanton, Kevi Corrigan, Tom Waits, Abbie Cornish and Gabourey Sidibe.

Farrell plays a struggling screen writer, who is stuck on his latest script about seven psychopaths, though the story mostly revolves around a kidnapped crime boss' shih tzu. Walked and Waites are the best of the psychopaths, but overall, the film just never grabbed my interest.

I'm not opposed to overly talky or self relative preciousness (i.e. every Tarantino film, which I love), but for a reason I can't put my finger on, this one just didn't work for me, although I know this film and "In Bruges" both have their ardent defenders.

This film did kind of come together for me at the end, but it's wasn't as terrific as some critics I respect led me to believe.