<em>’Seven Psychopaths’</em> didn’t quite do it for me. It’s not far adrift from being a good movie, I just wasn’t able to connect to it in the end. It kinda has similar issues that I found with this director’s previous film, <em>’In Bruges’</em>; it’s better than that one, mind. The comedy is lacklustre and the cast don’t feel at their best. Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, Christopher Walken and Woody Harrelson being in the same flick is a recipe for success, so I am disappointed to say that I didn’t rate this one. The story has some solid moments and in summary is intriguing, though how it is all connected together with everything in-between and how it’s portrayed to us simply didn’t satisfy me unfortunately. His early two films have surprisingly disappointed me, thankfully Martin McDonagh followed them up with two absolute crackers. I hope his upcoming fifth release follows suit.

“Marty” (Colin Farrell) has an idea for a great screenplay, but thus far has only come up with a title. Hungover, as usual, he’s chatting with his pal “Billy” (Sam Rockwell) who is just full of ideas for his psychopathic characters but hates to impose on his creatively constipated buddy. Now “Billy”, aside from having a vivid imagination, is also involved in a cunning wheeze with the cravat wearing “Hans” (Christopher Walken) that involves a bit of high-end schnauzer snaffling! Yep - they dognap! It’s when he turns up to visit the suitably bemused “Marty” with a perfectly pet-icured Shih Zhu and they take quite a perilous trip into the desert that perhaps his juices might flow again? That might be inspiration, but is more likely fear as the dog’s owner is the none-too-charming hoodlum “Charlie” (Woody Harrelson) who wants his mutt back preferably with a few pounds of flesh to feed it with, too! Now they have a surfeit of ideas for his book, but can they stay alive long enough to capitalise on them? This is my favourite outing for the boy from “Ballykissangel” as he looks good, natural and works really well with the scene-stealing Rockwell who has a great comedy timing; with the dapper and wily Walken and with an on-form Harrelson who mixes a faux-charm with shotgun menace entertainingly too. The structure of the story is cumulatively episodic and that allows for plenty of thuggery, bullets and escapades as we build to a denouement that is anything but predictable. Martin McDonagh knows how to combine elements of a thriller with comedy and he also manages to get some collaborative performances here from his cast as they poke fun at the genre whilst remaining entirely immersed in it’s excesses.

**Seven Psychopaths (2012)** _Directed by Martin McDonagh_ This is pure fun, a twisted crime comedy with an all-star cast firing on all cylinders. Colin Farrell plays a struggling screenwriter named Marty trying to finish his script "Seven Psychopaths" while his friends Billy (Sam Rockwell) and Hans (Christopher Walken) run a dog-kidnapping scheme that goes sideways when they steal a gangster's (Woody Harrelson) beloved Shih Tzu. The plot is twisted in more ways than one, folding back on itself as the real-life chaos becomes material for Marty's screenplay. The meta angle works here. McDonagh plays with the conventions of violent crime films while making one, commenting on the genre while delivering exactly what the genre promises: sharp dialogue, gleeful violence, eccentric characters. It's Tarantino viewed through the British dry humor lens, all the blood and wit but with that sardonic distance that keeps it from taking itself too seriously. The cast is phenomenal. Rockwell is manic energy, Walken brings his particular brand of calm menace and unexpected tenderness, Harrelson is perfectly unhinged, and Tom Waits shows up because of course he does. Farrell grounds the chaos, playing the one sane person trying to make sense of the madness while realizing he's complicit in creating it. This is a film that knows exactly what it is and enjoys every minute of it.