Seven Psychopaths
1.5/4
Starring: Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, Christopher Walken, Woody Harrelson
Rated R for Strong Violence, Bloody Images, Pervasive Language, Sexuality/Nudity, and Some Drug Use
How does one begin to describe "Seven Psychopaths?" One doesn't defend it, that's for sure. It's not at all interesting, nonsensical and criminally unfunny. But it's such a mess and so hypnotically boring that it's impossible to even comprehend much of a plot.
As far as I could tell, the plot goes like this: Marty (Farrell, in his second film for Martin McDonagh) is an alcoholic screenwriter trying to write a script titled "Seven Psychopaths" (ho ho ho). He's got the first character, but that's it. The ideas that he comes up with mirror events in his real life (to an extent). His best friend, Billy (Rockwell), is a loose cannon who runs a dognapping scheme with Hans (Walken). Billy and Hans run into a bit of trouble when they kidnap the dog belonging to a mobster named Charlie (Harrellson). Charlie loves his shi tzu and will do anything to get her back. Charlie and Hans go on the run, and Marty tags along hoping for a little inspiration. Meanwhile, there's a serial killer running around targeting members of the Italian mafia and the Yakuza (and only them).
There's a lot going on here, although little of it is relevant to the main plot (such as it is). What McDonaugh is trying to do is ambitious: he's trying to show how real life influences fiction through Marty's screenplay. At least I think. I may be wrong, though.
The acting is flat. Colin Farrell does what he can with Marty, but he's not given anything good to say or do. Sam Rockwell is suitably off-the-wall, but he suffers from the same affliction that Farrell does. Christopher Walken is boring (how is that possible?), and Woody Harrelson fails to really chill or get any laughs. There are some other relatively big names in the cast, including Abbie Cornish, Olga Kurylenko, and Tom Waits. None of them have any real screen time, and could have just as easily been replaced with no names.
I kind of liked Martin McDonagh's previous film, "In Bruges," despite the fact that it was not the twisted black comedy that it was marketed as. McDonagh is trying to do a Tarantino-esque movie, but he falls far from the mark. Instead, the movie ends up being like "Hit and Run." I think that says enough.
Starring: Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, Christopher Walken, Woody Harrelson
Rated R for Strong Violence, Bloody Images, Pervasive Language, Sexuality/Nudity, and Some Drug Use
How does one begin to describe "Seven Psychopaths?" One doesn't defend it, that's for sure. It's not at all interesting, nonsensical and criminally unfunny. But it's such a mess and so hypnotically boring that it's impossible to even comprehend much of a plot.
As far as I could tell, the plot goes like this: Marty (Farrell, in his second film for Martin McDonagh) is an alcoholic screenwriter trying to write a script titled "Seven Psychopaths" (ho ho ho). He's got the first character, but that's it. The ideas that he comes up with mirror events in his real life (to an extent). His best friend, Billy (Rockwell), is a loose cannon who runs a dognapping scheme with Hans (Walken). Billy and Hans run into a bit of trouble when they kidnap the dog belonging to a mobster named Charlie (Harrellson). Charlie loves his shi tzu and will do anything to get her back. Charlie and Hans go on the run, and Marty tags along hoping for a little inspiration. Meanwhile, there's a serial killer running around targeting members of the Italian mafia and the Yakuza (and only them).
There's a lot going on here, although little of it is relevant to the main plot (such as it is). What McDonaugh is trying to do is ambitious: he's trying to show how real life influences fiction through Marty's screenplay. At least I think. I may be wrong, though.
The acting is flat. Colin Farrell does what he can with Marty, but he's not given anything good to say or do. Sam Rockwell is suitably off-the-wall, but he suffers from the same affliction that Farrell does. Christopher Walken is boring (how is that possible?), and Woody Harrelson fails to really chill or get any laughs. There are some other relatively big names in the cast, including Abbie Cornish, Olga Kurylenko, and Tom Waits. None of them have any real screen time, and could have just as easily been replaced with no names.
I kind of liked Martin McDonagh's previous film, "In Bruges," despite the fact that it was not the twisted black comedy that it was marketed as. McDonagh is trying to do a Tarantino-esque movie, but he falls far from the mark. Instead, the movie ends up being like "Hit and Run." I think that says enough.
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