Blueprint Pictures
110 min., dir. by Martin McDonagh, with Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, and Christopher Walken

Martin McDonagh’s first feature-length film, In Bruges, was a gem that burst through the mundane, cliched trash being pumped out at the time, hitting all the right points. It was funny, serious, touching, and introspective, all at once. With his directorial follow up, Seven Psychopaths, McDonagh still pulls those thought-provoking strings while presenting more of a straightforward comedy. With a cast to die for, Seven Psychopaths can be unsteady at times, but triumphs in the end.

Marty Faranan (Colin Farrell, Total Recall) is a Hollywood screenwriter having issues completing his new screenplay. Specifically, he is having issues even starting it. He has a title — “Seven Psychopaths” — but that is as far as he has gotten, and the studio is on his back for a completed script. When Marty’s best friend Billy Bickle (played by the brilliant Sam Rockwell) isn’t kidnapping dogs to reap the reward money with his partner-in-crime, Hans (Christopher Walken), he’s 100 percent in Marty’s corner, trying to inspire the struggling writer with material for his script. When Billy takes a small Shih Tzu belonging to a truly twisted mobster, Marty gets caught up in the madness. With the dog-loving Charlie Costello (Woody Harrelson, Rampart) on their trail, Marty, Billy, and Hans continue to  work on Marty’s script bringing them in contact with some shady characters, some real, and some purely fictional — all of them psychopaths, nonetheless.

Seven Psychopaths is one complete story contained in two simultaneously presented sections. Previews for the film deal only with the kidnapped dog scenario, but Marty’s screenplay is the actual crux of the story, the dog is just a MacGuffin. Martin McDonagh (the real life writer/director) and his brother John (writer/director of The Guard) have a fascination with playing against the grain and poking fun at Hollywood traditions. Marty (the character) is a caricature of how McDonagh sees the Hollywood machine. The character has a title he loves, but no actual story; there’s no need to keep the title. He’s forcing himself to churn out something based on pure stubbornness. Every character in Seven Psychopaths follows the same code: they’re all attached to something they’re unwilling to let go of, even though it’s doing them no good. Trapped in cycles of self destruction, Marty’s script represents a way out.

Sounds heavy, right? Don’t worry, Seven Psychopaths is a wacky comedy spiced with blood, guts, and dogs. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Sam Rockwell is a national treasure. He has the power to break your heart, or kill you with comedy. Seven Psychopaths give Rockwell a forum to go the extra mile with his restrained insanity, and he takes advantage of every second he gets. He simply has to repeat a line of dialogue in an enthusiastically sarcastic tone, and the tears of laughter being to pour. Match his performance with Christopher Walken’s awkward stoic nature, Tom Waits’ bunny-carrying nuttiness, and Woody Harrelson’s uncouth instability, and Seven Psychopaths is unstoppable.

The best movies are those with something to offer every type of viewer. You want unfathomable silliness? Unrealistic violence and blood? A deep story you can dissect? Something brainless you can simply enjoy? Seven Psychopaths has it all. Is it better than McDonagh’s In Bruges, or his brother’s The Guard? No, but it’s still a great film to entertain the masses.

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Matthew Schuchman is the founder and film critic of Movie Reviews From Gene Shalit’s Moustache and also the contributing film writer for IPaintMyMind.