Let's Talk About...Seven Psychopaths

Seven Psychopaths...
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 Seven Psychopaths was a film that me and a friend discovered back in December. I remember seeing the trailer at a re-release showing of The Shining and thought 'Oh, that looks intriguing and amusing'. Well, I'm glad to say it exceeded my expectations. I loved every minute of it (which is a rare thing for me.) The pace was fast, the humour was spot on and the three main actors were perfect for each role. We'll start with Colin Farrell as poor, hapless, writer Marty. Now I'm not usually a fan of Colin Farrell, although I quite enjoyed his performance as In Bruges (from same director as Seven Psychopaths), he never wowed me as he did others when he was in The Recruit. And I was always rooting for Kiefer Sutherland's character in Phone Booth rather than his main protagonist. But there was something quite endearing about his on-screen frustration and exasperation towards his friend Billy (Sam Rockwell) to eventually his devotion to both Billy and Hans (Christopher Walken). The audience sees everything through Marty, as he researches into his new idea for a movie-Seven Psychopaths, learning about each psychopath he wants to feature with hilarious results. Christopher Walken stars as Hans who's in business with Billy. His performance throughout was so relaxed and at ease, a nice contrast to Rockwell's Billy. Who, let's face it, was the main attraction to the film with his energetic performance never once ceasing. With anyone else cast as the slightly manic Billy, the role may have come across as annoying or unsympathetic but with Rockwell's devotion to totally immerse himself in a role, Billy becomes loveable even after doing questionable things throughout. It's Billy's determination to be a good friend to Marty that shines through, especially towards the end and that is very evident due to the performance here. His quick-fire deliveries with Colin Farrell and Woody Harrelson's villain of the film makes the pace constant, leaving the audience members satisfied. The humour was dark, though since it was a film about psychopaths, it was an almost given. The humour may not suit everyone, as it did get slightly gory at some points (though certainly not on a horror film scale) but it catered to my tastes. It had the right amount of quirkiness that didn't leave me thinking that it was a device of the filmmaker to make the film forcefully unique (other films have a habit of deliberately using a technique in a film to try and show the audience that they are different, leaving them thinking what was the point as it seemed to have no significance.) All in all, a quirky, funny film with a lot of heart that will hopefully stay with you long after the credits have ran. Speaking of, there's a fun little scene before the credits properly start which was a nice surprise. I give this film 4 out of 5 ****