Killing Them Softly

Starring: Brad Pitt, Richard Jenkins, James Gandolfini, Ray Liotta, Scoot McNairy, Ben Mendelsohn, Sam Shepard
Directed by: Andrew Dominik
Rating: R
Genre: Thriller
2012

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: An enforcer (Brad Pitt) is brought in after three small-time crooks knock over a card game.

Review:

Tim: I really didn't care for Killing Them Softly all that much. This is stylish thriller that takes a different approach to the genre. It's much more talking and less action than you might imagine. It's about bigger themes than just crooks killing each other. It works so hard to seem different and above the average thriller, but it ultimately came across as too pretentious for me. I'm sure that proponents of the film will say that the critics "just didn't get it". I got it, and I didn't like it.

The main point of contention is the political and economic message of the film. you can watch the entire movie through the lens of this political, economic, and you can probably throw in societal allegory. You can't miss this, because director Andrew Dominik crams it down your throat continuously throughout the film. The characters often watch television or listen to the radio, and we hear snippets of the economic meltdown, the government reaction, etc. It's all right on display, blaring loudly through different technologies. There's no subtlety at all. It was so obvious what Dominik was trying to achieve that it just turned me off to the whole thing. I get it, and I didn't need to be hit repeatedly over the head with it. If you loved this aspect of the film and thought it was "deep", then you're probably a fan of Killing Them Softly.

Let's look beyond the allegory. Besides that whole piece, this is just your average crime movie. We have three small time crooks who knock over a big card game, and watch as the chaos unfolds afterwards. Dominik goes to great lengths to be both in-your-face and stylishly cool in the film I have to admit that the cinematography was terrific- this is a gorgeous movie to look at. Unfortunately, so much else of the film falls flat. This movie is surprisingly violent at times- the scene where Ray Liotta gets beat up is especially difficult to watch (my wife had to leave the room). This adds to the gritty realism of the film, but it didn't necessarily make it any better. We also have a shoot-out scene later, and we get a slow-motion view of the bullets shattering glass and a character's face. These are cool moments, but don't add up to a very thrilling movie. I did want to mention a very simple, but different shot- the camera connected to the car door. It's a simple way shot to get, but it looked incredible. I fault Dominik for the story and the relentless allegory, but he does shoot a pretty incredible-looking film.

Brad Pitt was decent in the lead. He certainly looked cool, and he had a few opportunities to deliver impressive speeches. As a whole, though, it just felt like he didn't have quite enough to do. James Gandolfini was fine, although he quickly got on my nerves. I like Ray Liotta, but he was underused in this film. I have to say that I really enjoyed Scoot McNairy here (I also liked him in Monsters). He held his own against Brad Pitt, and likely gave the best performance of the film. The cast has big names, but they mostly deliver average performances. McNairy was certainly the exception.

I wanted to like Killing Them Softly, but it just wasn't engaging and interesting enough. What the film looks like is important, but it felt like Dominik spent far too much time on that aspect, and neglected to tell a really engaging, powerful story. I felt like most of what I saw on screen was instantly forgettable. I really don't believe much of this film will stick with me. That is not the mark of a very good film.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6



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