A struggling screenwriter inadvertently becomes entangled in the Los Angeles criminal underworld after his oddball friends kidnap a gangster's beloved Shih Tzu.
Engagingly off-centre, like Charlie Kaufman taking down Quentin Tarantino, this sunbaked shaggy-dog story is a place-holder film for McDonagh, and often closer to chaos than it is to genius.
A more purely entertaining film you’d be hard pressed to find; Seven Psychopaths is best enjoyed as an unabashed hell-raiser that’s also bloody funny.
All the leads are well chosen, turning farce with thriller overtones into a uniquely tasty movie. Admittedly, there are longueurs, but when it’s funny, it’s hilarious; when it’s tense, it’s powerful; and most of the time, its demented brio is a joy to watch.
Martin McDonagh is undoubtedly a very clever man, but with Seven Psychopaths he is interested in nothing more than celebrating his own cleverness.
It loses its way after a while but the performances are excellent and there’s some jaunty dialogue.
It’s a mistake to look for greater meanings here or to try to understand the often unfathomable behaviour of the protagonists. Instead, enjoy Seven Psychopaths for what it is – a very tall and very lurid tale about nothing in particular.
That it all works so well though is largely down to McDonagh’s ability to combine his ideas with a mastery of tone, a rapid-fire array of one-liners and the wonderfully entertaining performances he gets from his cast.
Enormously entertaining, endlessly quotable, perfectly cast and packed full of the richest acting you’ll see from an ensemble cast all year, but the result is ever so slightly hollow.
For all its trickery, Seven Psychopaths feels as derivative as the rash of wordy, windy thrillers that tried desperately to mimic Tarantino and Scott’s sure-footed swagger. Self-aware stupidity does not equal wit.
A screenwriter scams his way through In Bruges director Martin McDonagh's Tarantinoesque new film – but it quickly runs out of spark.
Seven Psychopaths will keep fans of In Bruges happy, without ever approaching that film's depth or interest in human psychology.
Startling and funny.
A big disappointment.
Writer/director Martin McDonagh talks about new movie Seven Psychopaths
Seven Psychopaths: 'You can't kill dogs in Hollywood'
General release. Check local listings for show times.
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