Killing Them Softly Review
November 15, 2012
My theory that no film featuring a cute dog is a bad film has failed me once again. Killing Them Softly is a one of the biggest disappointments for 2012.
Every once in a while, a trailer comes out that woos you. Everything about it works: the premise, the soundtrack and the casting, leaving the viewer certain it will be one of the greatest movies to grace cinema screens for some time. Every once in a while, these expectations don’t quite match the trailer; like a bad date or a disheartening ready meal (arguably, there is nothing more depressing than a ready meal but that’s a different story). I received the same kind of devastating disappointment from Andrew Dominik’s Killing Them Softly; a movie I was convinced I would adore thanks to Johnny Cash’s The Man Comes Around.
Frankie (Scoot McNairy) and Russell (Ben Mendelsohn) are small time, yet optimistic, crooks who have got their sights set on bigger things. Tempted by Markie’s (Ray Liotta) secret, lucrative poker games; the former dog-napper and wannabe mobster take a rather amateurish bash at holding one of these games up at gunpoint. When word gets around, the mob send in hitman Jackie Cogan (Brad Pitt) to do their dirty work for them. Reluctant to take the hit himself after recognising a number of targets, he calls in Mickey (James Gandolfini) who has quite a reputation. Unimpressed with Mickey’s lazy attitude, Cogan takes matters into his own hands.
As much as I hoped to love Killing Them Softly, I certainly did not. Despite the high level of gunshot induced violence; I found it dull. The opening was incredibly promising; a pretentious title sequence much loved by indie directors. Unfortunately, it all went downhill from there. Many of the characters were incredibly unlikeable; Gandolfini’s Mickey especially who is far too preoccupied by drink and girls to do his job. Brad Pitt, unsurprisingly, was my favourite thing about Dominik’s most recent cinematic endeavour, which reunites him with the director after The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.
If, like me, you were expecting something akin to the sensational Drive or even Killer Joe; you will be sadly mistaken. Boring, with an incredibly unfavourable view of women (the only female characters are prostitutes) and pointless political subtext; Dominik’s Killing Them Softly is one of the most disappointing films I’ve seen in a long time. Not even a cute dog could save this one.
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I’m sad to hear hear this man. This has been at the top of my list for a while. I’ll still give it a go but I’ll not build my hopes up. It’s funny you mention Drive and Killer Joe as those were the two I was hoping this would be like.
I think it was similar to Killer Joe the tone especially. The performances by all the actors were brilliant, I was wary of the opening but really got into the story and enjoyed it.
Ah, well that’s knocked my expectations down quite a bit. I’m still going to catch it at some point but perhaps it’ll benefit from me not having such high hopes for it? I’ve now read quite a range of opinions on this film, and so no longer quite know what to think!
Nice review. Sorry you didn’t quite enjoy it
I don’t agree with you, but then again I didn’t see the trailer for it and went in expecting a specific type of movie. I thought it was an awesome movie, which was beautifully shot and edited (for example the scene which played in slow motion or the drug scene). Shame you didn’t like it as much as I did.
I really enjoyed Killing Them Softly, but I agree with you on many points. The plot was slow and perplexing at times, especially when James Gandolfini appeared, whose character was pointless and redundant. However, despite its flaws, I thought the acting and direction were top-notch and Brad Pitt was fab, although I preferred him in Moneyball. It was a little pretentious at times, but definitely in my top 10 for the year.
Oh wow, glad you enjoyed it so much Andy. It really just didn’t click with me. If there’s a terrible portrayal of women it doesn’t bode well I’m afraid. I need to retract my statement about dog-nappers though because I liked the ones in Seven Psychopaths.. Awkward!
A beautiful scuzzy film
An underated gem from Director Andrew Dominik who has made three excellent films
Thanks for your comment, Ian! I think I might need to give this another go, I seem to be amongst the few that didn’t enjoy this – especially because the rotten tomatoes score is pretty impressive.