Seven Psychopaths a journey into quirkiness.

     If you like quirky, off beat, humorous, and just plain fun things well, you would like me.  But you will love the British comedy Seven Psychopaths.  This second release from director/playwright Martin McDonagh, stars Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson, Tom Waites, and the indominable Christopher Walken.  This is the second collaboration from McDonagh/Farrell, the first being 2008's  "In Bruges".  Sam may Rockwell; but Walken in Rockin, in this film.
     The film is set in Hollywood with Farrell playing Marty Faranan, a screenwriter suffering from writers block and and the early stages of alcoholism.  His friend, Billy Bickle (Rockwell), is an out of work actor with anger management problems.  To make ends meet Billy and his much older friend Hans (Walken) team up to make extra money by kidnapping dogs, maybe I should say dognapping, for the reward money the owners offer for the safe return of their pets.  Not a bad scam when you really think about it.  But all goes wrong when they steal a beloved Shih Tzu belonging to sociopathic Charlie Costello (Woody Harrelson), a manically crazy and funny head of some sort of criminal crime gang.  The stage is set, the players are cast, let the mayhem begin!
     The film begins with Marty trying to work on a screenplay but he just can't get past the the title, Seven Psychopaths. (it would probably help if he would lighten up on the drinking)   The first psychopath on his list?  A Buddhist monk, but his friend keeps telling him that idea sucks.  No, "I want this film to be non-violent and uplifting".  That does sounds like a suck butt movie but viewer need not despair,  psychopaths doesn't sink into that mire.  It's rather a recurring and funny underlying theme in this move within a movie.  The real fun happens when each psychopath is revealed one by one.  Or I should say one through seven.  Marty, Billy, and Hans do a lot of drinking and sitting around talking about the different paths the script can take.  Finally Walken's character comments on one plot line by saying "I like it, it has lots of layers".  Bickle adds,  "yeah like a cake".  :p)  The best thing about Seven Psychopaths is the how unpredictable the story is as it unfolds.  Taking more twists and turns than a mountain road.  In a day when film has become so derivative I found this very refreshing. One note, watch the credits, a little extra scene is spliced in.    I think this is a good date movie but be warned that there is a LOT of blood and violence presented both realistically and surrealistically.  But would you expect anything less from seven psychopaths?
I give this movie a grade of: A-