Seven Psychopaths

Written and directed by Martin McDonagh, Seven Psychopaths is the story of a struggling screenwriter who teams up with his best friend and another man to steal dogs only to realize they’ve stolen the dog of a troubled gangster. The three men deal with all sorts of trouble as they try to return the dog to the gangster. The film is a dark comedy that revolves around mistakes and mayhem as a writer seeks inspiration for his movie. Starring Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, Christopher Walken, Woody Harrelson, Olga Kurylenko, Abbie Cornish, Zeljko Ivanek, Gabourey Sidibe, Kevin Corrigan, and Tom Waits. Seven Psychopaths is a witty yet off-the-wall dark comedy from Martin McDonagh.

Struggling to write a new screenplay called Seven Psychopaths, Marty Faranan (Colin Farrell) is trying to come up with ideas as he’s dealing with writer’s block and lack of inspiration. Helping him is his friend Billy Bickle (Sam Rockwell) who often spouts lots of ideas for Marty to use as Billy spends his time kidnapping dogs with his friend Hans (Christopher Walken). One of the dogs Billy and Hans get is a Shih Tzu that belonged to the gangster Charlie Costello (Woody Harrelson) as Billy decides to keep the dog for himself. Aware that Costello is deranged and is willing to kill at any length to get his dog back while there’s a psychopath killing low-level mobsters.

Marty, Billy, and Hans go on the run to hide from Billy and his hoodlums where Marty gets ideas for his story while learning more about the world of psychopaths that included a man he previously met named Zachariah Rigby (Tom Waits). Hiding at the desert, Marty gets more ideas while struggling with his alcoholism where he learns more about what is going on as Billy has a crazy idea for the ending that involves a showdown with Costello.

Anyone who knows about the art of writing knows that inspiration is hard to come by as the film is about a man trying to write a story about psychopaths that is different from the world of crime movies. Yet, he would end up meeting a slew of crazy characters that would be inspirational to him while taking part in a scheme that goes all wrong when it involves a gangster who is completely edgy and is willing to do anything to get his dog back. Mayhem ensues when these three men try to figure out how to deal with this unhinged gangster as more surprises are unveiled about the people the writer has been hanging out with.

Martin McDonagh’s screenplay definitely has a flair of snappy dialogue, absurd situations, and multiple stories that revolves around psychopaths as it begins with two hitmen (Michael Stuhlbarg and Michael Pitt) talking about killing someone and all things go to shit when the first psychopath is introduced. It’s part of McDonagh’s scheme to introduce a slew of psychopaths as it includes Vietnamese man (Long Nguyen) seeking vengeance against the Americans over the Vietnam War. Throughout the film, there’s scenes where it plays to Marty’s attempt to write the screenplay as there’s lots of fantasy scenes that plays to the idea of trying to write a screenplay. Even as it involves all sorts of character twists and such that plays to that world of the writer. The one flaw in the script is the way some of the female characters are presented like Marty’s girlfriend Kaya (Abbie Cornish) and Costello’s girlfriend/Billy’s mistress Angela (Olga Kurylenko) as they don’t really get much to do at all with the story.

McDonagh’s direction is quite straightforward in terms of presenting the mind of a writer as Marty is this uninspired writer who likes to drink a lot and hang around with his oddball buddies. Shot on location in Los Angeles and other parts nearby, it is a film that revolves around this strange criminal underworld that features a lot of strange and dark violent scenes. The violence is very brutal in the presentation as it plays to not just the fantasy of violence but also the grim reality. McDonagh does create some wonderful compositions and framing to display the world or the characters in their situations that includes some fantasy scenes or offbeat flashback scenes. Overall, McDonagh creates a fun yet very unconventional black comedy that explores the world of writing and psychopaths.

Cinematographer Ben Davis does nice work with the film‘s cinematography to capture the beauty of the locations in Los Angeles as well as the locations at the Joshua Tree Park. Editor Lisa Gunning does superb work with the editing by creating montages in the film‘s flashbacks and fantasy scenes along with some stylish cuts in some of those moments. Production designer David Wasco, along with set decorator Sandy Reynolds-Wasco and art director John Dexter, does some fantastic work with the sets such as the home that Billy lives in to the dog shelter he and Hans run.

Costume designer Karen Patch does terrific work with the costumes from the clothes the men wear to the more stylish clothes that Kaya wears. Sound editor Joakim Sundstrom does some wonderful work with the sound to capture the atmosphere of the locations along with the intimate moments involving a few characters. The film’s music by Carter Burwell is brilliant for its low-key, jazz-driven score to play up the film‘s dark humor. Music supervisor Matt Biffa is filled with a lot of songs from the 60s and 70s to play out the world the characters inhabit.

The casting by Sarah Finn is great for the ensemble that is created as it features some cameo appearances from Harry Dean Stanton as a mysterious psychopath, Michael Pitt and Michael Stuhlbarg as a couple of mob hitmen in the beginning of the film, Kevin Corrigan and Zeljko Ivanek as a couple of Costello’s henchmen, Long Nguyen as a Vietnamese psychopath, Brendan Sexton III as the young Zachariah, Gabourey Sidibe as the dog’s original caretaker Sharice, and Linda Bright Clay as Hans’ wife Myra. Abbie Cornish and Olga Kurylenko are quite good in their respective roles as Marty’s girlfriend Kaya and Costello’s girlfriend Angela though neither of them really get a lot of development nor any big moments for them to really stand out. Tom Waits is superb as the mysterious Zachariah who has this amazing scene where he tells a story about his notorious killings.

Woody Harrelson is brilliant as the deranged Charlie Costello who is determined to get his dog back as Harrelson brings a dark humor to the character who is also an emotional mess. Christopher Walken is fantastic as Hans who is a man with a dark past as he tries to deal with a situation while providing some very funny ideas to Marty. Sam Rockwell is outstanding as the very offbeat Billy who spouts all sorts of ideas to Marty while doing all sorts of crazy things as it’s Rockwell at his finest. Finally, there’s Colin Farrell in an excellent performance as the troubled Marty who is trying to come up with a great script as he deals with his alcoholism, his bitchy girlfriend, and all of the violence that is happening around him as it’s a very funny performance from Farrell.

Seven Psychopaths is a marvelous film from Martin McDonagh that features top-notch performances from Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, Christopher Walken, and Woody Harrelson. The film is definitely an intriguing piece into the world of writing as well a darkly-comic look into the world of the psychopaths. Notably in the latter as it shows the absurdity of murder and crime as well as what some people are willing to do to create the ultimate story. In the end, Seven Psychopaths is a remarkable film from Martin McDonagh.

Martin McDonagh Films: (Six Shooter) - In Bruges - Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri

© thevoid99 2012

2012 Cannes Marathon: Precious

(Played at the Un Certain Regard Section at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival)

Based on the novel Push by Sapphire, Precious is the story of 16-year old obese and illiterate young woman who is dealing with her sudden pregnancy and the abuse of her mother. When she seeks help to go to a different school and find a new life, she also deals with some of the harsh realities of her circumstances. Directed by Lee Daniels and screenplay by Geoffrey S. Fletcher, the film is an exploration into the troubled life of a young woman and her abusive mother. Starring Gabourey Sidibe, Mo’Nique, Mariah Carey, Paula Patton, Lenny Kravitz, and Sherri Shepherd. Precious is a harrowing yet truly powerful film from Lee Daniels.

Claireece “Precious” Jones (Gabourey Sidibe) is a 16-year old girl who lives in Harlem with her abusive mother Mary (Mo’Nique) as she is pregnant with a second child and is struggling to do well in school due to illiteracy. When the school’s principal learns of Precious’ pregnancy, she decides to have her move to an alternative school where Precious goes to a small class taught by the very kind Blu Rain (Paula Patton) who helps Precious improve on her reading. Despite having a safer environment at Rain’s classes, Precious still has to deal with issues at home where she also has another child named Mongo (Quishay Powell) who is suffering from Down’s Syndrome as Precious reluctantly goes to a social worker named Ms. Weiss (Mariah Carey) for more welfare only to reveal things about her home life.

When Precious goes into labor and gains a second child in Abdul, Precious tries to figure out what to do as she is surrounded by her classmates, Rain, and a nurse aide named John McFadden (Lenny Kravitz) who visit her and the baby. When Precious returns home to her mother, the result becomes bad forcing her to flee home and seek shelter in the home of Rain and her classmates. Despite finding a sense of security for her son, Precious later receives a visit from her mother with some startling news about her father that puts Precious into a state of shock about herself. With the help of Rain and her classmates, Precious decides to forge ahead to create a new life for herself and her children. Still, Precious has to deal with her mother as Ms. Weiss helps to mediate in which horrible revelations are revealed about Precious’ mother.

The film is an exploration of the life of a young 16-year old obese girl who is trying to find hope in her dreary life. Yet, she is also someone who often fantasizes about having a great life and feel loved by various people. Still, she has to contend with the abuse of her mother who often berates her for not bringing any welfare checks or to cook properly making this young girl feel awful about herself. Then comes the chance to attend an alternative school where Precious would meet classmates who are just as complicated and troubled as she is as they become a family of sorts led by this very sympathetic teacher. It would give Precious hope despite having to deal with her mother whom she wonders why this woman despises her?

Screenwriter Geoffrey S. Fletcher does a brilliant job in exploring the life of this young girl living in late-1980s Harlem as she is just trying to live this dreary life despite all of the awful circumstances she’s dealing with. The narrative is told from her perspective as her narration reveals a lot of what she’s feeling and the thing she fantasizes about. Notably as she is someone who wants to be beautiful like some of the white women she sees as there’s a scene where she looks at herself in the mirror as a white woman. It adds to the complexity of who Precious is while Fletcher also creates interesting characters in people like Blu Rain, Ms. Weiss, and some of the classmates that Precious has.

Then there’s the character of Mary who is probably just as interesting as some of the supporting characters. Throughout the story, Precious wonders what happened to her mother as she looks at pictures of Mary in earlier years. While Mary would put on a nice face in dealing with social workers, she would turn into this very monstrous woman who really despises her daughter and would abuse her in all sorts of ways for not getting what she wants or needs. The source of this hatred is eventually revealed but in one of the most devastating moments where she gains pity but it doesn’t make less of the monster that she is though she is human.

Lee Daniels’ direction is truly stylish for the way he plays out the fantasy scenes but also for the way he captures the realism of Precious’ dreary world. While the bulk of the film revels more in realism where Daniels shoots the film in a loose, hand-held style. It is to have the audience see what is going on where he knows something could go bad while he’s also interested to see how Precious would interact with people who are just as troubled including those who have a heart to help her. Daniels knows how to make create suspense but it’s the aftermath where it’s all about the emotion of these characters. For Precious, she would go back to these fantasies where the look is more stylized as if they’re videos but they would often clash with these harsh realities.

Part of Daniels’ uniqueness to fuse reality and fiction are scenes such as Precious looking at herself in the mirror where she sees herself as a beautiful white woman. Another is when she and her mother are watching Vittorio de Sica’s Two Women where Precious imagines herself and her mother in that scene repeating the same dialogue they had previously spoken but in a calm Italian setting. It’s among one of the film’s major highlights as is the calm intensity in the scenes between Precious and Mary including their climatic meeting at Ms. Weiss’ office. There’s melodrama in some of these emotional scenes including that meeting but Daniels knows when not to go overboard as he pulls out the right punches to find something the audience can connect with. Overall, Daniels creates a very tough yet heart-wrenching drama that explores a young girl’s journey to find hope in her dreary world.

Cinematographers Andrew Dunn and Darren Lew do excellent work with the film‘s very stylized cinematography from some of the lush colorful shading of the scenes in Rain‘s classroom to the hyper-stylized fantasy scenes with its array of colors and lights. Editor Joe Klotz does amazing work with the editing to play out the drama that occurs through some chilling montages and stylized cuts ranging from jump-cuts to dissolves to establish Precious‘ struggle. Production designer Roshelle Berliner, along with art director Matteo De Cosmo and set decorators Kelley Burney and Paul Weathered, does nice work with the set pieces created such as the apartment that Precious and Mary lives in to the small but peaceful classroom Rain has to teach her students.

Costume designer Marina Draghici does very good work with the costumes where a lot of it is casual in tune with the late 80s while there‘s more stylish clothing for the fantasy scenes. Visual effects supervisor Dan Schrecker does superb work with the visual effects to create transitions from the fantasy scenes to reality as well as few pieces such as a dream sequence filled with numerous historical pieces that surrounds Precious. Sound editor Robert Hein does a fantastic job with the sound to capture the tense atmosphere of the apartment scenes as well as the raucous world of Harlem.

The film’s score by Mario Grigorov is quite good for its low-key score to play out the drama with small orchestral flourishes. Yet the film’s music is dominated largely by its R&B-inspired soundtrack. Assembled by music supervisor Lynn Fainchtein, the soundtrack includes music by Robin Thicke, Bobby Brown, LaBelle, Mary J. Blige, Queen Latifah, Nona Hendryx, and some gospel pieces by Mahalia Jackson and Donna Allen that truly captures the spirit of the film.

The casting by Billy Hopkins and Jessica Kelly is phenomenal for the ensemble that is created as it features small but notable performances from Sherri Shepherd as the school receptionist Cornrows, Grace Hightower as a social worker who visits Precious and Mary in a flashback scene, Bill Sage as a math teacher Precious adores early in the film, Quishay Powell as Precious’ Downs Syndrome-affected daughter Mongo, and Lenny Kravitz as the kind and humorous nurse aide John McFadden. In the roles of Precious’ classmates, there’s Amina Robinson as the low-key Jermaine, Chyna Lane as the flamboyant Rhonda, Stephanie Andujar as the mouthy Rita, Angelic Zambrana as shy Consuelo, and Xosha Roquemore as calm Jamaican Jo Ann as they all give very memorable and lively performances.

Mariah Carey is excellent in a small role as the social worker Ms. Weiss who tries to help Precious with her situation while Paula Patton is great as the very sympathetic teacher Blu Rain who shows Precious a life that can be good. Mo’Nique gives a truly magnificent as the monstrous Mary where Mo’Nique displays a fierce sense of intimidation to a character that is full of resentment and anger while also displaying a bit of warmth in the fantasy scenes plus sadness in the film’s climatic meeting with Ms. Weiss. Finally, there’s Gabourery Sidibe in marvelous performance as the titular character where Sidibe provides a sense of realism to a character lost in a dreary, abusive world. The fantasy scenes including some of the realistic scenes show Sidibe in places where she seems relaxed and full of life while also someone who seems lost in the world where she is unsure how to vent her anger. It’s a truly remarkable debut performance for the newcomer as Sidibe rises to the occasion and more.

Precious is an extraordinary although very grim film from Lee Daniels that features towering performances from Gabourey Sidibe and Mo’Nique. It’s a film that is definitely not easy to watch due to its very provocative subject matter and harsh reality. Yet, the film is a story of hope that is quite inspiring to watch for the way a young girl can rise up against abuse. In the end, Precious is a film that truly lives up to its namesake and more that is told in an engaging fashion from Lee Daniels.

Lee Daniels Films: (Shadowboxer) - The Paperboy - (The Butler)

© thevoid99 2012