Pretentiousness is a matter of perspective. What one person may find authoritative and compelling may be viewed as utter hogwash by another, and usually it has to do with the way one views the person or art at the center. Put another way, if someone thinks you hold value, then they’re going to think what you have to say or do holds value, regardless of whether it actually does. To a large degree, this is what makes relationships function: we look past the potential flaws as we life-bond with another. But as time passes, sometimes authority turns to pretentiousness as regret turns to resentment, a malignance taking shape where love once lived. This is a core element of writer/director Tolga Karaçelik’s (Butterflies) latest film, the darkly comic thriller Psycho Therapy: The Shallow Tale of a Writer Who Decided to Write about a Serial Killer, starring Steve Buscemi (Barton Fink), John Magaro (LaRoy, Texas), and Britt Lower (Sisters).
L-R: Steve Buscemi as Kollmick and John Magaro as Keane in PSYCHO THERAPY: THE SHALLOW TALE OF A WRITER WHO DECIDED TO WRITE ABOUT A SERIAL KILLER. Photo courtesy of Brainstorm Media.
Author Keane (Magaro) loves talking about the idea of his in-progress book, but the writing of it is something else. His long gestation process, though enjoyable for him, is far less so for his wife, Suzie (Lower), who has grown frustrated with their marriage and tells him that she wants a divorce, the writing being one of several reasons why. While drinking, Keane is re-approached by the strange and off-putting Kollmick (Buscemi) who is a fan of Keane’s writing and wants the author to write a book about a serial killer, using himself as inspiration. Drunk, confused, and struggling to say no, Keane quickly finds himself agreeing to take the project on and, worse, manages to convince Suzie that Kollmick is actually a marriage counselor. Mistaken identity, researching murder, and a dissolving marriage are just a few items Keane’s going to have to balance and the chances of it going well are about as certain as the future of his initial book idea.
L-R: Steve Buscemi as Kollmick, Britt Lower as Suzie, and
John Magaro as Keane in PSYCHO THERAPY: THE SHALLOW TALE OF A WRITER WHO DECIDED TO WRITE ABOUT A SERIAL KILLER. Photo courtesy of Brainstorm Media.
So as not to break the hearts of Past Lives (2023) and First Cow (2019) fans everywhere, Magaro retains his status as loyal-to-a-fault lead, though all of that good will is ruined by the fact that, despite being charmingly nebbish, Magaro’s Keane is a shitty husband. Karaçelik sets this up in the very first sequence as we’re shown a black-and-white, tightly framed scene of two individuals from 40,000 B.C.E. as Keane narrates. From the cinematography to the color language, the sequence establishes a specific artistic pretention that feels like something the worst film bro would acknowledge as their favorite film as they turn their nose up at Con Air (1997) or A Minecraft Movie (2025). This is confirmed in the opening as we learn that Keane is actually explaining the idea of his latest book, sitting positioned at one head of a table, forcibly turning the conversation back to his tale even as others try to shift the conversation elsewhere, totally oblivious at the daggers slicing him from Suzi at the opposite end. This scene demonstrates Keane’s own tight POV, his interest in being the center of attention, and his actual lack of knowledge on the subject he’s planning to write about (even as a fiction) due to his inability to provide supportive information when asked by fellow dinner guests about rudimentary details. One could maybe defend Keane as being early in the process of writing and, therefore, not have it all mapped out, but then we discover it’s been five years and we start to understand Suzie’s daggers. Thus, when Suzie declares a desire for divorce, we’re neither shocked nor arriving in defense of Keane — we’re more likely to express a sigh of relief in support of her decision. It’s an interesting choice by Karaçelik to place the audience in a position of misalignment with our lead, but it also enables us to retain a similar curiosity that Suzi develops regarding starting couple’s therapy with Kollmick leading. We, too, want to see where this goes.
L-R: John Magaro as Keane and Steve Buscemi as Kollmick in PSYCHO THERAPY: THE SHALLOW TALE OF A WRITER WHO DECIDED TO WRITE ABOUT A SERIAL KILLER. Photo courtesy of Brainstorm Media.
Now, if you’ve seen the trailer, you’d think that you’d seen the whole film. In truth, what you get is only a hint at what goes down. See, the marketing of the film implies that Keane takes on the project of writing a serial killer story with Kollmick as his “counselor,” kicking off the miscommunication that results in Kollmick pretending to be a marriage counselor, which then dovetails into a murder scheme by Suzi. Instead, because miscommunication provides prime real estate for comedy and is the place where resentment grows best (miscommunication; not comedy), there’s no murder scheme but the one Suzi thinks is happening, brought to life by some smartly executed staged and shot sequences that fuel the fire and raises Suzi’s concern to high stress levels. Part of why this happens isn’t just because the two aren’t communicating, but as a way to exemplify just how distant and disparate the couple has become. Keane is so involved in his own head and worried about losing Suzi that he doesn’t tell her about the new book concept and Suzi is so tightly-organized (she evidently works as a professional organizer) that what initially appears like Keane taking steps to reform his selfish behaviors appear shrouded in murderous intent. Thus, we have a sequence in which Suzi first is pleasantly surprised that Keane wants to cook for her that rapidly veers into a Princess Bride-like Vizzini situation that only Keane and we, his somewhat confidants, know the truth of. Shortly thereafter, Suzi believes Keane is threatening her with a knife upon seeing his shadow creeping into their bedroom, not realizing that what she mistook for a blade is actually the bottom of a plastic bottle of aloe vera as he treats a burn from cooking. So much of the comedy is built upon the foundation of either miscommunication or misunderstanding, something which eventually reaches a head with Keane yelling about how so much trouble could be avoided if talking occurred. Of course, by the time he’s figured this out, there may or may not be a body or two tied up somewhere via his counselor’s instruction.
Britt Lower as Suzie in PSYCHO THERAPY: THE SHALLOW TALE OF A WRITER WHO DECIDED TO WRITE ABOUT A SERIAL KILLER. Photo courtesy of Brainstorm Media.
Psycho Therapy is the kind of dark comedy that fans of the Coens (Fargo; Raising Arizona; Barton Fink) are at least going to have a good time with. It’s got tons of simple communication issues that lead to escalating sequences of absurdity, it’s got a writer who continually huffs his own proverbial smoke, a serial killer, a hotel room, and Buscemi. In that regard, it’s not exactly going to feel particularly exciting as so much of its narrative execution feels familiar, even when fresh. However, its cast is quite game with Magaro and Lower as impeccable scene partners and Buscemi making for a satisfying third as the fairly leveled but occasionally testy retired serial killer. This combined with smart cinematography that never stoops to over-explaining its hand results in Psycho Therapy offering a compelling, darkly comedic, thriller worth spending some time on. All this, plus the combined communication breakdown that results in fascination and affection to regret and (murderous?) rage leads to several humorous turns from the able cast.
In select New York and Los Angeles theaters April 4th, 2025.
In wider release and VOD April 11th, 2025.
For more information, head to the official Brainstorm Media Psycho Therapy: The Shallow Tale of a Writer Who Decided to Write about a Serial Killer webpage.
Final Score: 3.5 out of 5.
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Categories: In Theaters, Reviews, streaming
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