This is a film that is concurrently simple and complex, the
basic story is where the simplicity comes in, as we witness the robbery of a
card game and the fallout as the culprits try to survive and the organized
crime community look to find those responsible. Where the complexity comes is
from some of the characters and the very political message and it’s comments on
America as a society, which gives one of the best closing lines in a film, as
it sums everything about the film, it’s characters, world and message. I won’t
spoil it here; it’s worth witnessing for yourself.
This is a film that is primarily about characters and
violence, more often than not, one or more characters performing an act of
violence against another. Starting with the violence, the majority of it is
bearable, but there is one ‘beating’ that is genuinely hard to watch, but not
because it is over blown or exaggerated. It is played as real as I can imagine
this kind of thing looking like, which is probably why it is so hard to watch.
The other moments of violence are committed with weapons, almost entirely
firearms, and are done with more discretion and efficiency, the act isn’t
played out in some grandiose way, it happens and then we move on.
The characters in Killing
Them Softly are the big selling point of this film, with a cast led by Brad
Pitt, who gives a charismatic yet very understated performance, who plays
hitman/enforcer Jackie Cogan who is the men sent to find out what happened and
kill those responsible. While he doesn’t immediately arrive in the film, he
appears about ten or fifteen minutes in, he quickly establishes himself as the
centre of everything as he plans how best to safely get rid of everyone. He
switches from frustrated and charming, to manipulating and finally into a
merciless cold blooded killer.
The rest of cast has many highlights, two in particular
stand out, Ben Mendelsohn as the borderline crazed Russell and James
Gandolfini, the aging New York hitman who Cogan brings down to take one of the
hits. Mendelsohn gives real life and mannerisms to a characters who could have
been just comic relief in other actors hands, but here we get a man who wants
to try and get out of the rut and life he is leading at the moment and move to
the next echelon in the criminal world, but for reasons I won’t give away, just
can’t seem to make it.
Gandolfini as the New York hitman plays the role in a
similar way to that of Tony Soprano, but here we get a man, who through two
monologues, who is all to aware of his vices and what he has done and that is
taking a serious toll on not just him, but also his wife. He knows he is on his
last chance, but can’t resist the pull of the work he does, or the rewards that
come with it.
Andrew Dominik, in what is only his third feature film (the
other two were Chopper and The Assassination of Jesse James by the
Coward Robert Ford) gives the film an interesting look, one that represents
the world these characters inhabit, it’s dirty dark and almost completely
devoid of any glamour, we spend most of our time in cars, bars and motel rooms.
But still the film is shoot beautifully by Grieg Fraser, letting the camera
explore this wonderfully horrible places and crimes. The only slight negative
that I can say about this film is that one or two of them scenes go on a bit
too long, usually they play on long after the point and subject of the
conversation has been achieved. A bit more prejudicial editing may have
benefitted the films pacing.
This isn’t a film for the faint hearted; it goes in deep
with violence and the effect of those actions of the people connected. While
the plot is simple, it’s for the characters and the ideas behind it that is the
real attraction and payoff to the film.
