If you were already a fan of writer/director Martin McDonagh (IN BRUGES), whether it be for his theatre work or film work (or both), then the skill, insight, and quality on display in SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS was hardly a surprise. But even if you knew McDonagh’s work backwards and forwards, while the story structure of SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS may have appeared familiar, the film’s content and mobius strip-style storytelling were somehow still a complete (and pleasant) surprise. Because even if you’ve seen the trailers, you know nothing about this film. And it’s absolutely better that way. The work of art he creates with cohorts Christopher Walken, Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, Abbie Cornish, Olga Kurylenko, Tom Waits, and Woody Harrelson is best when it takes hold of what you think you know and twists it around into else entirely, something deeper and more profound and funnier and more startling.
I’m going to be so bold as to say that you’ve never seen anything like SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS, and if you somehow haven’t seen it already then you owe it to the film fan, the Christopher Walken fan, the Sam Rockwell fan, and the human being in you to check the film out when it arrives on DVD and Blu-ray this January 29th.
DVD/Blu-ray featurettes:
– Martin McDonagh’s Seven Psychopaths: features the cast talking about both the story and McDonagh’s vision for the film.
– Colin Farrell Is Marty: Farrell discusses his character from the film
– Woody Harrelson Is Charlie: Harrelson discusses his character from the film
– Crazy Locations: highlights the various filming locations in LA and the Mojave Desert
– Seven Psychocats: a re-made trailer featuring a cast of seven “psycho-cats,” in which the cast is replaced by cats.
– Layers: a video mash-up of the film set to a rap beat.
Run time: 109 minutes
Rating: R for strong violence, bloody images, pervasive language, sexuality/nudity, and some drug use
Synopsis: From Oscar-winning writer and director Martin McDonagh comes a star-studded, blood-drenched, black comedy. Marty (Farrell) is a struggling writer who dreams of finishing his screenplay “Seven Psychopaths” and all he needs is a little focus and inspiration. Billy (Rockwell) is Marty’s best friend, an unemployed actor and part time dog thief, who wants to help Marty by any means necessary. Hans (Walken) is Billy’s partner in crime, a religious man with a violent past. Charlie (Harrelson) is the psycho-pathetic gangster whose beloved dog Billy and Hans have just stolen. Charlie is unpredictable, extremely violent and wouldn’t think twice about killing anyone or anything associated with the theft. Marty is going to get all the focus and inspiration he needs, just as long as he lives to tell the tale.