Seven Psychopaths (2012) ***1/2

Martin McDonagh's unconventional, and meta crime caper, Seven Psychopaths (2012), features an incredible cast and choice dialogue. It hilariously mocks its so obviously cartoonish cliches of character tropes and their offensive personalities, while heaping over-the-top violence upon them. Female characters are underwritten but that's even self-reflectively called out in the film as a fault of the writer (and remember they can die, but animals cannot).

Of McDonagh's three feature films, all of which have been scored by Carter Burwell, SP's score is the most interesting and my favorite. It also features a great soundtrack, including memorable use of Cat Stevens's "The First Cut Is The Deepest" (as sung by P.P. Arnold).

Seven Psychopaths is not a subtle film (none of McDonagh's films are)—it's a sledgehammer. But it has a heart, fantastic performances, and serves as a darkly comic satire of macho crime films.

You can find my Martin McDonagh Feature Films Ranked list here.