Cannes Film Festival 2013

Watch: Christopher Walken and Sam Rockwell on the lunacy of 'Seven Psychopaths'

Two of cinema's great eccentrics at once? Interview heaven.


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Christopher Walken and Sam Rockwell in one room together promises to be a whole lot of energy to try to manage during an interview.

Of course, neither of these men is easily summed up by their onscreen personas, and Rockwell in particular is a guy who I think comes across very different in a face-to-face situation than he does onscreen.  He is one of our great oddballs on film, and it is one of cinema's unbreakable rules that any film where Rockwell dances is automatically better because he dances.

Walken is also a remarkable dancer, of course, as any fan of "Pennies From Heaven" or the Fatboy Slim "Weapon Of Choice" video can attest, but he's also a tremendous actor who has managed to become a larger-than-life figure.  Some films trade openly on that idea and cast him to play "Christopher Walken," and some films cast him for his considerable chops and his ability to create memorable characters.  "Seven Psychopaths" is a little bit of both.  While there is dialogue that absolutely sounds like it was crafted to trip off his tongue with his trademark pauses to punctuate things, he's also enormously touching in the way he gives life to what could have been a cartoon in lesser hands.

"Seven Psychopaths" is a master class in comic performance, and I look forward to seeing the film several more times to watch the way the entire cast digs into this feast that Martin McDonagh has laid out for them.  There's a long sequence featuring Tom Waits that is one of the most unhinged sustained comic set-pieces I've seen in quite a while, and Waits positively savors every word of it.  Rockwell also has a show-stopping moment where he describes the shoot-out he believes should end a screenplay, and he's on fire in the role.

Ultimately, I think our conversation suffered a little because it was the end of a very long day of press for them, but they were still both sharp and focused and visibly proud of the film they made.  I had a great time chatting with them, and if there is any justice in this world, "Seven Psychopaths" is going to be a huge hit and further underline just how great these two are, and what a treat it is to watch them work.

"Seven Psychopaths" opens Oct. 12.

Drew-mcweeny-sm
Drew McWeeny
Film Editor
A respected critic and commentator for fifteen years, Drew McWeeny helped create the online film community as "Moriarty" at Ain't It Cool News, and now proudly leads two budding Film Nerds in their ongoing movie education.
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  • Default-avatar

    neverthehero

    I really, really hope next time I see Walken in an interview, he's petting that dog. I feel he really likes that dog.

    October 6, 2012 at 2:08AM EST Reply to Comment
  • Default-avatar

    batphantom

    I'd like to think that Sam will one day take the slot that Walken has now, eccentric crazy guy everybody loves. Can't wait to see this one.

    October 6, 2012 at 2:34AM EST Reply to Comment
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    StevenEdwards

    I know this is somewhat against the law but the other day I was thinking that if I could see any other version of the Joker played I think Sam Rockwell could absolutely kill it

    October 6, 2012 at 10:51AM EST Reply to Comment
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    jakelasker

    The only thing that could make this better would be if Drew was replaced by Michael Shannon

    October 6, 2012 at 12:32PM EST Reply to Comment
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    Faraz

    "he's a really...nice dog"
    walken the legend

    October 8, 2012 at 3:16PM EST Reply to Comment

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