'Killing Them Softly' - Instead of killing me softly, this killed me slowly!
Writer/Director Andrew Dominik must really have something on or over Brad Pitt. His first outing with Pitt, 'The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford' was probably one of the worst westerns I have seen and lasted all of a week or two at the theater. 'Killing Them Softly' is no different and I am sure it will share the same limited run fate, at least I certainly hope that it does.
This is a film that would have even have Quentin Tarantino, the ultimate lover of B movies, running for the exit door. Weighed down by the incredibly narcissistic vision of Dominik, trying so desperately to be an art house dark comedy, 'Killing Them Softly' is a rambling and often directionless mess. Throughout the film Dominik attempts to portray the collapse of the American economy with a parable about the collapse of the local mob economy, yet all he really does is bring us a tale of three mob wannabe idiots, who by the end of the film you are most certainly grateful they have finally got whacked; if only because it means the film is finally over.
Three idiots think they can hold up a local card game run by a mobbed up hood (Ray Lolita). While the robbery is successful, it causes the collapse of the local mob economy, after all, if a mob protected card game can get hit, how can they guarantee any of them will be safe? In steps the professional hit man Jackie (Brad Pitt) to come clean up the mess and restore the order.
What follows is a fairly standard crime caper complete with Tarantino like monologues of dialogue, except the dialogue here simply sucks and you wait for them to finally shut up! Also included is the stylistic violence, shot in excruciating slow motion and filled with buckets of deep, red blood. Intended I am sure to make a point, instead I found myself staring at my watch, hoping the flash from a gun would catch the tiny green indigo hands and show me that I was close to finally getting out of the theater.
Set in 2008, during the collapse of the economy, nearly every scene is filled with either a TV or radio blaring speeches from Bush, McCain or Obama; reminding us, I suppose, that the criminal world is no different than the political world, filled with mistakes and economic issues. Yeah - just how I need to be told that about our political system. Ya think?
This 1 star mess is a sad attempt to be art. If you want one of the best recent crime films, that is both sylistic as well as entertaining, go rent 'Drive' instead of paying your hard earned money for this trash.