The trailers had me sold when they just showed the cast--Colin Farrell, Christopher Walken, Sam Rockwell, Tom Waits, Woody Harrelson, etc. and promised them all acting crazy. That's enough to sell me, but when you make it a smart meta-comedy that's really a commentary on violent movies, that's even better. Colin Farrell plays a screenwriter who is working on a script called, conveniently enough, "Seven Psychopaths." The thing is, he's bored and tired of writing violent shoot-em-up films. He wants to make something that's really, under it all, about love. Also, he's an alcoholic (and yes, there's a meta-joke in there about how writers--and Irishmen--have a propensity for alcoholism.) But while he wants to write something that's more about love, his real life is surrounded by psychopaths, like his best friend (Sam Rockwell) and his partner-in-crime (Chrisopher Walken) who kidnap dogs and return them to their owners to collect the rewards. Or there's the crazier crime boss (Woody Harrelson) who loves his dog enough to kill anyone involved in kidnapping him. And then there are more bizarre side-stories like the Vietnamese psycho who is on a mission of revenge against everyone who destroyed his village of My Lai. Or there's the first psychopath--the mysterious jack of diamonds killer who assassinates mid-level operatives of the mafia (or yakuza) and leaves a jack of diamonds on their bodies as a calling card.
All of this does tie together, and Colin Farrell's character does get his wish as the movie has plenty of his preferred talking scenes (instead of Sam Rockwell's preference for action and big shoot-outs) and is ultimately a story about love. But more importantly, it's just a funny movie and an excellent way to pass some time.
Running Time: 110 minutes
My Total Minutes: 300,987