Seven Psychopaths

Before I delve deep into my review of this film I'd like to give a quick shout out to my friend Adam Rathbone who managed to find a cinema still showing this film and then accompanied me to see it. He also proved that it's possible, with a big enough coat, to sneak a full McDonald's meal into the cinema. Anyway, to the film review!

Unfortunately for us all when a bad script gets turned into a film they usually just pack it full of stars in the hope that this will make up for it. So more often than not when I see a film jam packed full of well known actors I'm skeptical. Seven Psychopaths made it very clear that it featured not only Colin Farrell but Christopher Walken, Sam Rockwell and Woody Harrelson on top of that. So, obviously, I was skeptical. I don't say this very often, but I was wrong. This film was brilliant.

There's a lot going on in this film, but it essentially revolves around a struggling screenwriting, played by Colin Farrell, who's friend kidnaps the beloved dog of psychopathic gangster, Woody Harrelson. Bit of a strange storyline admittedly but amazingly it works really well without feeling stupid. It remains consistently interesting and was continually gripping throughout.

In terms of whether the star names really earned their money then I'd have to say they certainly did. Colin Farrell was good, playing the standard good looking frustrated Irishman he usually does; Sam Rockwell was great, believably portraying an abnormal highly inappropriate yet always funny partner in crime for Farrell; and Woody Harrelson brilliantly portrayed a psychotic mob boss who cares about nothing or no one, except his stolen Shih Tzu. However, the standout performer was undoubtedly Christopher Walken. Maybe it's because I have an incredibly large soft spot for him, or maybe because he has the most unique voice on the planet, but throughout the whole film everything he did impressed me. I found him as hilarious and cool as I'd expected and I was pleasantly surprised at how well he tugged on my heart strings during the emotional scenes, yet all the while still giving that feeling he's got a screw or two loose. Brilliant.

I definitely recommend this film. It's well acted, brilliantly written and outstandingly filmed. The cinematography is beautiful at times and the characters have clearly been carefully thought out. It's biggest triumph though is definitely it's style. The way the narrative constantly cuts from reality to fiction, or present to past, is really cleverly done and constantly keeps you interested. I think the best way to describe Seven Psychopaths would be to says it's like a grown up version of a Tarantino film. It's got all the ruthless killing and mannerisms we'd expect in a Tarantino flick, but on top of that it has a brain. It revolves around more than the violence and almost pokes fun at itself at times.

Overall a really great film. I'd definitely recommend getting your hands on it when the DVD comes out, could become a real cult classic.




Written by Ash Davies