The art of storytelling is a precarious one which walks the fine line between the boring and the absurd. Its mastery is a skill highly praised and one in which relative newcomer Martin McDonagh seems to be honing in on. Not only has he made a weird, hilarious, and at times powerfully moving comedy, his film also details the intricacies of storytelling and how people perceive narratives. In no way is this movie of the same caliber as films like "8 1/2" or even "Barton Fink", but it is an extremely entertaining film with some terribly clever ideas.
Colin Farrell leads an exemplary cast playing Marty, a struggling screenwriter in the process of writing a new film called "Seven Psychopaths". As he gains new ideas for who his maniacs will be we meet the psychotics in his own life totaling--you guessed it--seven. As the characters begin to form, Marty is taken down the rabbit hole as his friends inadvertantly bring him into the world of organized crime when they steal a shih tzu from the craziest of all criminals.
Sam Rockwell ("The Green Mile", "Moon") plays Marty's best friend, Billy, who runs a dog stealing racket with a seasoned professional named Hans (Christopher Walken). The film clips along briskly for the first two acts when their theft releases the crazy from a man named Charlie (Woody Harrelson) who goes on a murdering spree trying to hunt them down.
Some critics might not like the film because some of the absurdities get to be a bit extreme. There are also fantastical elements thrown in because, as I said, this film is also about the art of storytelling. There are small vignettes throughout about a scorned Quaker, a Vietnamese priest with a hooker, and serial killer killing serial killers which are beautiful in their own right and layer what might have been a farce otherwise.
As I reflect on the movie, though, I am unsure as to what the messages of the story are. Surely it could not simply be about movie making. Marty's writer's block encompasses only a small portion of the movie and is used more as a framing device to introduce the characters of the actual plot which is about psychopaths. Knowing that Marty is the only real sane person in the movie means we don't have to take the other people seriously, so their problems that they have in their heads don't resonate as strongly.
Walken's character might be the one exception to this. He plays a recent widower whose spiritual journey leads him to dark places in his mind. In all of his pain, however, he is a good soul and a pacifist. Unlike Rockwell, Farrell and Harrelson, Walken's character is subdued and only really ever funny because the lines he says are funny. He gives the soul to the film, if Rockwell and Farrell provide the heart.
The cast is tremendous. Rockwell is such an undervalued actor and although he is usually good at playing manic men, there are subtleties here that speak volumes of his potential. Farrell, who also starred in McDonagh's first and only other movie, the fantastic "In Bruges", is yet again another great vehicle for the director's vision. Harrelson has been growing on me as an actor. Here again he does a fine job in a role that was probably very easy for him to do.
I am a very big fan of McDonagh's, I've decided. He has made two very distinctive and unusual films, with great characters and sharp writing. His eye for small absurdities is great, and if he can make me enjoy films about gangsters then he must be doing something right. I hope he doesn't sell out his visions in the future, because he is making comedies for an intellectual audience which aren't solely about dry wit. It is hugely entertaining.
3.5/4
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