Trailer Trashin’: Murder and Mirth Come Together in Seven Psychopaths

There’s only about two weeks left in August, the 2012 summer movie season is almost over, and soon we’ll be in the prestige seasons of fall and winter. This week on Trailer Trashin’, I’m taking a look at the first trailer for the upcoming black comedy Seven Psychopaths.

Premise: Marty (Colin Farrell) is a struggling writer who dreams of finishing his screenplay, “Seven Psychopaths.” Billy (Sam Rockwell) is Marty’s best friend, an unemployed actor and part-time dog thief, who wants to help Marty by any means necessary. All he needs is a little focus and inspiration. Hans (Christopher Walken) is Billy’s partner-in-crime, a religious man with a violent past. Charlie (Woody Harrelson) is the psychotic gangster whose beloved dog Billy and Hans have just stolen. Charlie is unpredictable and extremely violent, and wouldn’t think twice about killing anyone or anything associated with the theft. Marty is going to get all the focus and inspiration he needs, just as long as he lives to tell the tale.

My take: I’ve heard nothing but good things about In Bruges (2008), the first film by playwright-turned-filmmaker Martin McDonagh. Now the first trailer for McDonagh’s follow-up film, Seven Psychopaths, has arrived, and I think it looks great.

The film has a really eclectic cast. Colin Farrell – who was one of the leads in In Bruges – is a good actor who I think has been continuously underserved by big Hollywood movies, as anyone who saw the recent remake of Total Recall can tell you. He seems much more at home in small, quirky movies like this, and he seems to be enjoying himself as Marty, the exasperated straight man of the group. Woody Harrelson looks like a perfect fit for the role of the gangster Charlie, because he is able to switch between threatening people with violence and blubbering about his lost dog, and be convincing in both modes. Sam Rockwell, who plays Billy, has been an actor I always pay attention to ever since The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (2005), and he’s being his usual incredibly funny self here. Christopher Walken, who plays Hans, is one of those actors who I always love watching, even in awful movies, and he’s clearly having a great time here. Abbie Cornish as Kaya and Olga Kurylenko as Angela are both gorgeous, of course, but I hope that they have a real purpose to play in the story. It was quite a trip to see Tom Waits show up in the trailer as Zachariah, the guy with the rabbit. I also appreciate the fact that both Farrell and Cornish sound like they’re getting to use their natural (respective) Irish and Australian accents.

The movie also looks funny as all hell. There were so many things in this trailer that made me smile, chuckle, or laugh out loud. Walken’s trademark line delivery (“It’s their blood. It’s his puke.”). Rockwell’s brief scene with the dog (“Paw. Paw. No paw. That’s okay, too.”). Gravel-voiced Waits holding a fluffy white rabbit. The dog sitting calmly while a spent bullet cartridge falls on the ground next to it. And of course, there’s the simply brilliant central joke of the frightening, badass criminal having an adorable little Shih Tzu for a pet.

I don’t feel the need to complain about much of anything here. This movie has a great cast and sharply-written humor. If McDonagh and company can maintain the level of darkly funny material seen in this trailer for the entire film, he could have a real winner on his hands. If you’re looking for quirky black comedy in theaters this fall, you should check out Seven Psychopaths.

ANTICIPATION: I definitely think this is one to check out.

Release Date: October 12th, 2012

Starring: Colin Farrell, Woody Harrelson, Abbie Cornish, Sam Rockwell, Christopher Walken, Olga Kurylenko, Tom Waits, Gabourey Sidibe, and Kevin Corrigan
Director: Martin McDonagh
Writer: Martin McDonagh

P.S. I was horrified to learn the news yesterday morning about the suicide of director Tony Scott. He was a great filmmaker, and will be missed. My thoughts and prayers go out to Mr. Scott’s family and friends.

P.P.S. Literally within a 24-hour period late last week, we got the first trailers for The Last Stand starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Bullet to the Head starring Sylvester Stallone. They both look like they could be a lot of fun. Between those two and the subject of last week’s column, Trouble with the Curve starring Clint Eastwood, it’s pretty cool that all these icons of Hollywood are coming back to our screens.