There’s a moment halfway into Martin McDonagh’s 2012 film, Seven Psychopaths, where the main character, a struggling screenwriter, says of the script he’s been working on, “You know what I think the movie should be? The first half should be a perfect setup for an out-and-out revenge flick. Violence. Guns. All the usual stuff. And then… The lead characters should just walk away. They should just drive off into the desert and pitch a tent somewhere and just talk for the rest of the movie. No shoot-outs, no pay-offs. Just human beings talking.” Now this line is meant as comedic, as this line perfectly encapsulates the first half of the actual film, while basically telling the audience exactly what the second half of the film will be. This meta-commentary is what makes Seven Psychopaths so fascinating. It’s perhaps one of the most self-deprecating and self-aware films, and it is absolutely hilarious.
It’s no mistake for the central character of the film, Marty, to be a struggling, alcoholic, Irish screenwriter. This character is a very obvious stand-in for the director of the film, McDonagh. Throughout the film, Marty struggles to complete the film he’s been working on, a dark tale about psychos and killers, but he claims that, in the end he wants the film to be life-affirming story about love and peace. The first half of the actual introduces to several characters who fit the moniker of “psychos and killers”; there’s Marty’s best friend who moonlights as a vigilante who murders criminals, his other friend who kidnaps the dogs of wealthy people for the reward money, the primary antagonist of the film: an incredibly violent Los Angeles crime boss. These violent characters serve as perfect surrogates through which McDonagh makes the point of the film very clear.
Seven Psychopaths is a film that feels as though it’s being written before the viewers very eyes, that is to say, Seven Psychopaths doesn’t necessarily feel like a conventional film. It seems as though every single line in this film is critiquing itself. The tongue is placed firmly in the cheek for the entire film. Despite its glaring self-critique, the humour of the film is subtle yet incredibly dark. This is a violent and often brutal film, but one can’t help but laugh at its own absurdity.
As mentioned before, the first half of the film sets itself up as the perfect revenge story. Marty’s two friends mess with the wrong man and violence begins to ensue. Hans’, the dog-napper mentioned before, wife ends up murdered. As the characters flee the city, dragging Marty along with them, Marty ponders the line quoted above. As promised, this is exactly how the remainder of the film goes, with the characters heading out into the desert to just talk, engaging in an almost surreal debate on the merits of violence in films. Once again, this self-referential debate comes off as hilarious.
Seven Psychopaths is clearly an incredibly self-critical film. It’s unclear if the film revels in its own ultra-violence or condemns it, or perhaps even both. It’s a meditation on the act of, not only writing a film, but watching one as well. It’s a postmodern meta-comedy and it’s absolutely hilarious.
Joel Vs Film 