On Blu Ray and DVD - "Killing Them Softly" - This lower-budgeted, dialogue-driven, slice-of-the-crime-life film Directed by Andrew Dominik (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford 2007) moves at a laborious, almost glacial pace- potential viewers expecting an action-heavy gangster flick will be sorely disappointed. There's less than 10 shots fired throughout, though you'll probably remember a vicious beating and a couple of "liquidations" for quite some time- the violence is decidedly graphic when it does roll around. A nighttime "hit" at a rainy intersection, shot in slow-mo and set to Ketty Lester's "Love Letters", is particularly memorable.
Staged at the height of the recent "Great Recession" (and using the 2008 elections as a backdrop), two grungy dimwits rob a mob-protected poker game and plunge the local crime world into a financial crisis of it's own. Brad Pitt stars as the cold and calculated, no nonsense mob enforcer,"Jackie Cogan", brought in to clean up the whole mess. Expect a neo-noirish feel to the proceedings and a wealth of appropriately dark and dreary cinematography. A myriad of radio sound bytes and television footage featuring coverage of the economic crisis and the elections runs throughout the film- a number of these snippets are lifted directly from the speeches of Presidents George W. Bush and (then candidate) Barack Obama as an ambitious gimmick attempting to draw a parallel between the state of the Union and the state of the crime syndicate in question.
Pitt is solid given the material, fully believable and natural in the role of a cynical, seasoned hitman. This isn't a physically demanding role as most of his screentime is spent seated and in conversation. I'd like to say his closing monologue concerning the death of American idealism at the hands of capitalism is on target, but then that would be rather hypocritical coming from an Actor who's accumulated an estimated net worth of above $170 Million...
Scoot McNairy (Monsters) and Ben Mendelsohn (Animal Kingdom) are the two hoodlums who steal a lot of cash from the wrong people, with Mendelsohn nailing the part of a greasy junkie who can't keep his mouth shut. McNairy is serviceable and might just be the only character in the film you garner empathy for (there are no "good guys" here). The film spends a relatively substantial amount of time with these two doomed simpletons and some might think they're the real stars of it.
Ray Liotta (Goodfellas) is solid in full character actor mode as the gambling proprietor undone by a past act of jealous greed. I wish there had been more of him.
James Gandolfini (HBO's The Sopranos) is woefully underutilized as a burned out hitman while Richard Jenkins (Let Me In) plays the corporate-like intermediate who appoints Cogan to start the cleanup and pops up occasionally for progress updates.
Sam Shepard (Blackthorn) makes a couple of brief appearances as another enforcer who conspicuously disappears about midway through the film- a couple of lines address his departure, though one might feel his being cast in the part was rather pointless given the limited nature of the role.
Vincent Curatola (HBO's The Sopranos) is the opportunistic wise-guy whose ill-advised actions throw the whole story into motion, while Max Casella (Doogie Howser, M.D.) and the Rapper, Slaine, (cast as a couple of lower-level thugs) round out the faces you may recognize.
Given that the film isn't set in a remote location, it's a bit of an oddity in that there's only one minor female speaking part in the film, with a prostitute (played by Linara Washington) having only a couple of lines.
It's a logistically sound film, though I can't wrap my head around how a serious, modern filmmaker with any concern for detail could allow a couple of close-up, slow-motion shots of a firearm expending obviously blank shell casings (the ends are crimped). Needless to say, it bugged the shit out of me.
Killing Them Softly is a slightly above average crime tale, though you've seen the vast majority of this before and quite a bit better. It's a little long winded and doesn't fully get it's intended point across. Those inclined will probably walk away from a viewing thinking it was "missing something."
7.0 out of 10
