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Seven Psychopaths (2012)

Director:
Martin McDonagh
COUNTRY
United Kingdom
GENRE
Crime/Comedy
NORWEGIAN TITLE
Seven Psychopaths
RUNNING TIME
110 minutes
Producer:
Martin McDonagh
Graham Broadbent
Peter Czernin
Screenwriter:
Martin McDonagh


Cast includes:

CHARACTER ACTOR/ACTRESS RATING
Marty Faranan Colin Farrell
Hans Kieslowski Christopher Walken
Billy Bickle Sam Rockwell ½
Charlie Costello Woody Harrelson
Zachariah Rigby Tom Waits ½
Kaya Abbie Cornish
Angela Olga Kurylenko
Paulo Zeljko Ivanek
Myra Linda Bright Clay
Vietnamese priest Long Nguyen
Man in Hat Harry Dean Stanton
Dennis Kevin Corrigan
Sharice Gabourey Sidibe
Larry Michael Pitt

 

Review

Martin McDonagh, that talented, Irish filmmaker behind the ingenious In Bruges, this time takes his well of ideas and characters across the Atlantic to shoot this black crime-comedy entitled Seven Psychopaths. The story is about an Irish aspiring screenwriter (Colin Farrell) determined to write a script called, yes exactly, "Seven Psychopaths". Along with his spirited (to say the least) friend Billy (Sam Rockwell), he starts roaming about looking for inspiration in the form of potential psychopaths. And along the way, he encounters probably more than he was bargaining for, including Billy's partner in dog-crime, Hans (Chris Walken), and a ruthless mobster (Woody Harrelson).

Although McDonagh again shows off his playfulness, which was one of the key qualities of In Bruges, it's a far more goofy and less delicate playfulness this time around. Seven Psychopaths takes on a semi-meta level which never quite hits the mark, and McDonagh spices his already buffoonic film with lots of hit-or-miss anecdotes and meandering conversations between his always very talkative characters. Contrary to In Bruges, there is no suspense in Seven Psychopaths, mainly because it doesn't matter, neither to us or McDonagh himself, how his protagonists fare. Their lives are simply rollercoaster rides for us to witness. Unfortunately, their antics aren't as original as McDonagh would want us believe; these self-obsessed mobsters, psychos and bullies have been depicted too many times on film already - and McDonagh's half-baked script of ideas which he bounces off us, seemingly unfiltered, isn't enough to make them more than slightly amusing. Only the Christopher Walken character stands out, as a man who has come to reject the idea of revenge.

Copyright © 26.01.2013 Fredrik Gunerius Fevang

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