SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS

year: 2012 cast: Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, Christopher Walken rating: ***1/2

Towards the anticipated finale, which could result in a climactic shootout, Christopher Walken’s Hans, an old con-man who steals pets and returns them for money, turns to boozing screenwriter Marty, played by a subdued Colin Farrell, that psychopaths, real psychopaths not fictional ones, can be more tiresome than interesting. That isn’t to say Sam Rockwell’s scene-stealing Billy doesn’t try his best to be normal – although he’s the kind of person you shouldn't associate with: unless you need genuinely bizarre, and seemingly useless, inspiration for your screenplay. Marty’s been struggling to get something on paper, and his next project titled SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS seems to be writing itself.

This crime/comedy, channeling Quentin Tarantino, Elmore Leonard and The Coen Brothers at every turn, deals with only a few crazy people and the rest are in Marty's imagination. Scenes involving bogus situations are never distracting from the basic plot: a really bad dude (Woody Harrelson) wants his dog back, which had been kidnapped by Billy without Han’s knowledge. Much of the film takes place in Los Angeles as the characters weave in an out of violent (some humorous, some not) situations – leading to a mellow stretch in the Joshua Tree desert where the three leads get unpretentiously philosophical.

Farrell does a decent job in a thankless role as the main protagonist; Christopher Walken is sympathetic and, during moments of high tension, mesmerizing with his usual halting tone; while all the tasty dialog belongs to Sam Rockwell, who at times is too good a thing. But that’s the underlying theme here – real loonies are a lot easier to take on paper. And while this motion picture doesn’t quite know where or how to end, it feels like reading a book you can't put down.