'SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS'

'SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS' (R) (3 1/2 STARS)

Written and Directed by Martin McDonagh
Actors: Sam Rockwell, Colin Farrell, Christopher Walken, Woody Harrelson, Tom Waits.

I love the art of storytelling and especially in the movies where mostly that art does not exist. There are either movies with one liners or action movies with no brains and no attempt at telling a smart, good story. "Seven Psychopaths" has a layered and imaginative story and great dialogue. It is a movie that would appear in concept to be dumb and violent with the violence overwhelming the story. It turns out to be highly imaginative, twisted, fun and hilarious. You also have one of the best casts in the movies with one actor giving his finest performance in awhile and another who I love, stealing the movie away from everyone.

"Seven Psychopaths" is written by the wonderful and talented Martin McDonagh who wrote the masterfully written and hilarious "In Bruges" which was my pick for the third best movie of 2008. This and that wonderful 2008 masterpiece have great dialogue, a nasty, violent and twisted story and great performances. "Psychopaths" has an original and black hearted story but I also felt an empathy for the characters like I did with "In Bruges". Take the story of the Christopher Walken character and his back story with his wife to witness this empathy. McDonagh has an uncanny knack for making us care about characters we shouldn't. It also helps that again he has a great cast of actors at the top of their forms.

It starts with two great character actors in an opening scene that starts the movie off on a shocking but very funny, high note. The actors are Michael Pitt and Michael Stuhlbarg and the scene shocks us with it's violence but makes us laugh also. That will be repeated throughout this story as we follow screenwriter Marty played by Colin Farrell, who is full of delightful energy and great comic timing. Marty is going through writer's block and is stuck with writing a multi layered story of seven psychopaths and the murder and crimes they commit. The movie then unfolds like a great book and I had a great time listening to the dialogue. I also appreciated the depth of the stories and the richness of the characters.

We also follow Marty's friend Billy who along with sidekick Hans kidnaps dogs and then brings them back to the owners to collect the ransom. They steal the Shi Tzu of a crime boss named Charlie. There is also the back story of a serial killer on the run and flashbacks to other crime stories. Billy is played by Sam Rockwell who steals this movie and gets better and better with each film. He is hilarious and takes a role that could have been over written and over acted and hits all the right notes. Hans is played by Christopher Walken and this is the best he has been in ages. The way Walken reads his lines sound more and more poetic as he ages, I could listen to him for hours. Woody Harrelson is of course perfect and quite funny as the crime boss who is ruthless until someone threatens his Shih Tzu.

I loved the delightful dialogue of "Seven Psychopaths" and I really felt the same way that I would reading a great novel. It is like the joy of listening to Christopher Walken tell us this story at a campfire as we listen with our stomachs on the ground and our hands under our chin listening rapturously as the story unfolds. Yes the movie is violent and unsettling at times but I laughed a lot. It is like a good suspenseful thriller and I was on the edge of my seat not because of action but because of the great dialogue and the sweet science of the art of storytelling. "Seven Psychopaths" is even better than I expected. I laughed a lot, always had a smile on my face and had a wonderful time even though it was a twisted, nasty good time.