7 Psychopaths (2012) - Review
Originally published February 2017Upon seeing the main image of 7 Psychopaths on my streaming service, I immediately established my own preconceptions of what the film likely was. Then I read the synopsis, which conflicted with that image a bit. Then I watched it. 7 Psychopaths is not at all what I was expecting. I did, nonetheless, enjoy myself.
There are certain qualities about the film that rub me the wrong way, but I'm still glad I gave it my time. It managed to be a dark comedy that was within my wheelhouse of humor, with some interesting bits of story-telling to add a little style and surprise to the film. I wouldn't say that it succeeded in everything it was trying to do, and it doesn't quite reach the hilarious levels of In Burges, but 7 Psychopaths still managed to keep me entertained from start to finish.
Image: Blueprint Pictures
Pros
Sam Rockwell and Christopher Walken add a lot of the necessary flavor to the film
Self-aware, meta story-telling adds some distinct style, though, with a bit of unfortunate confusion along the way
Plays around with tone and seriousness in interesting ways
Cons
Third act drags
Not all the jokes land or are as funny as they're meant to be
Some loose ends and unnecessary characters
The "twists & turns" aren't convincingly thought-out or seem like they actually work in the film's favor; most likely added to the script at the last minute
Plot & Thoughts
7 Psychopaths follows Marty (Colin Farrell), a film author in LA working on a new screenplay that happens to be called "7 Psychopaths." He's apparently done well enough for himself to be living in a nice part of LA and can afford the alcoholic tendencies of being an author and Irish—it's a joke in the movie, so if that statement offends you, stay away. His good friend, Billy (Sam Rockwell), kidnaps dogs in the area and has his accomplice, Hans (Christopher Walken), return them to their wealthy families for reward money. Billy enjoys doing the scams, while Hans just seems like he goes along with it to help pay his wife's medical bills. One day, Billy steals the dog that belongs to a mafia kingpin with a temper (Woody Harrelson), who goes on a man/dog hunt and kills anyone who gets in his way.
Image: Blueprint Pictures
This synopsis covers the "story" of the movie and what makes everything move along, but it really only touches on about half of the film. The other half is made up of snippets and anecdotes of potential pieces of Marty's script. These can be both a positive and a negative to the experience and the progression of the plot. They break up the momentum and give the audience something else to chew on. Sometimes it's good and effective at bringing up something dark or funny. Sometimes it slows things down too much and becomes a bit of a distraction.
Where the movie really grinds to a halt is in the third act. The three main protagonists end up in a secluded area to further work on the script, despite the impending doom slowly approaching. If the conversations they had during this time had been done earlier, it wouldn't feel like such a blow to the momentum of the movie. The material in this part is funny and entertaining, but it just stops the whole plot in its tracks for 20 minutes or more. Even when the plot shows up again, it still takes its time to finish. It felt like there were a dozen different endings being written at the same time and one of them managed to get finished first.
Image: Blueprint Pictures
I think the biggest flaw that 7 Psychopaths has is also something of a strength in making it interesting. The movie is all over the place, and it works, for the most part. Billy is a character who continues to have little details and twists that make the overall experience more interesting, but it also brings to light the cracks in the film. There are plenty of jokes, snippets, and details around Billy that bring attention to the loose ends or the progression of the plot. He drives and stops the film. It's great for Sam Rockwell because his performance makes the movie grossly entertaining, as a result. However, it also further drives home my hypothesis that the script was not done by the time they started filming.
The "incomplete" nature of 7 Psychopaths works because it adds to the meta-story-telling of the movie. If there were any movies to take advantage of having incomplete scripts by the time they were being shot, they should be movies about people working on unfinished film scripts. I don't think 7 Psychopaths gets away with murder, in this regard, but it manages to at least play off of its own rushed ridiculousness in some smart ways.
Image: Blueprint Pictures
TL;DR (Conclusion)
7 Psychopaths is a dark, funny, erratic story that manages to turn some of its weaknesses into strengths. Likewise, some strengths also detract from the experience by the end. It's an interesting movie, held together by Sam Rockwell and Christopher Walken, and it can occasionally be pretty funny. If you like dark comedies, 7 Psychopaths may not overtake your favorites, but it will probably still entertain you for its run-time.
Image: Blueprint Pictures
Do you agree or disagree? Tell me what you think in the comments!
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