Killing Them Softly (2012)
Directed by: Andrew Dominik
Screenplay by: Andrew Dominik
Genre: Crime | Thriller
Running Time: 97 Minutes
MPAA Rating: R
Viewed: Theater
In America you're on your own.
[IMDb]
Comments: Halfway through Killing Them Softly, I really wasn't sure what I was watching. I thought many of the scenes were amazing, but as a collective the entire film was disjointed. As the credits rolled, I still felt the movie was a bit uneven, but I'll be damned if I didn't enjoy the hell out of it.
I'm really surprised Killing Them Softly was even shown in my theater, as I can't see the general film-going public (that's going only because Brad Pitt's name is on the poster) will really enjoy this movie. (My theater laughs at the idea of getting anything remotely independent.) I was reminded a lot of the George Clooney's The American, a film that I'm sure many went to see for Clooney alone only to find one of the most anti-mainstream films to get such a wide distribution. The American and Killing Them Softly are certainly different, but I felt the overall vibe was similar between them. And for what it's worth, I thought The American was fantastic.
Anyway, back to the task at hand. Killing Them Softly is surely going to divide critics and the public in general. The political commentary feels a bit forced at times, and there's a certain character that ends up being mostly irrelevant to the rest of the film. But the performances are great (James Gandolfini and Scoot McNairy being my favorite), the look is awesome, and despite my issues with the script and its unevenness I felt that Andrew Dominik's direction was pretty good. If you're interested, I'd definitely recommend Killing Them Softly. Just be aware what you're getting yourself into.
I'm really surprised Killing Them Softly was even shown in my theater, as I can't see the general film-going public (that's going only because Brad Pitt's name is on the poster) will really enjoy this movie. (My theater laughs at the idea of getting anything remotely independent.) I was reminded a lot of the George Clooney's The American, a film that I'm sure many went to see for Clooney alone only to find one of the most anti-mainstream films to get such a wide distribution. The American and Killing Them Softly are certainly different, but I felt the overall vibe was similar between them. And for what it's worth, I thought The American was fantastic.
Anyway, back to the task at hand. Killing Them Softly is surely going to divide critics and the public in general. The political commentary feels a bit forced at times, and there's a certain character that ends up being mostly irrelevant to the rest of the film. But the performances are great (James Gandolfini and Scoot McNairy being my favorite), the look is awesome, and despite my issues with the script and its unevenness I felt that Andrew Dominik's direction was pretty good. If you're interested, I'd definitely recommend Killing Them Softly. Just be aware what you're getting yourself into.
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