Review of Seven Psychopaths (2012) by Renzo V — 04 Jan 2014

"ONE KIDNAPPED DOG AND SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS".

- With this 2012 crime comedy director and writer Martin McDonagh (In Bruges) proves that pure violence, poetic dialogues and black humor are a absurd match for a good night of entertainment. However, the story of 'Seven Psychopaths' is quite complex to follow and you will need to pay close attention. In the first half of the movie you'll get to know each of the psychopaths and learn how one is linked to another. I really liked this part because of the crossings and the many unexpected twists. For the rest of the movie it kind of lost me and especially the end could have been better. In the cast we see Colin Farell (Phone Booth), Woody Harrelson (The Hunger Games), Sam Rockwell (Lawn Dogs) and Christopher Walken (Pulp Fiction), but all credits go to 'Bonny', the Shih Tzu dog.

When Martin 'Marty' Faranan (Farell) is having a writer's block, he gets the help of his best friend Billy Bickle (Rockwell) to finish his screenplay called 'Seven Psychopaths'. Billy suggests to use the Jack of Diamond killer, an existing person who targets mobsters. In the meantime Billy, who is unemployed, focuses on kidnapping dogs and while his partner-in-crime Hans Kieslowski (Walken) collects the owners' cash rewards for the dog's safe return. Hans needs the money to take care of his wife, who's fighting cancer in the hospital. Their little moneymaking business takes a different swing, when Billy steals Bonny, a Shih Tzu belonging to crime lord Charlie Costello (Harrelson).

While Charlie's thugs are searching for the beloved pet of their boss, Marty writes about a psychopath called 'The Quaker'. With only two of the seven psychopaths found for the script, Billy places an advertisement in the newspaper, inviting killers to share their stories. After a party, Marty who was drunk finds out that his girlfriend kicked him out of the house. He decides to stay with his friend Billy. Things are looking pretty bad for Hans and Marty when two of Costello's gangsters find them in Billy's home in search of the kidnapped dog, Bonny...