Saturday Movies: Killing Them Softly (2012)

Killing Them Softly I think was supposed to be one of those movies that had some huge critical draw, but somehow the movie led by Brad Pitt got lost in the middle of a bunch of other films, and not overly well reviewed. To say the least, it was better than I expected, but there could have been some better casting, or just better character development, not sure which, to help us feel some better connection to  the characters. Instead it's just a bunch of bad guys, some very creepy at that, just battling it out. The hour and half run time may have had something to do with the lack of connection as well.

Frankie and Russell are hired to stick up a Mob protected card game, and pull it off, but with amateurs in charge of this, and a full blown mob there isn't much chance they can get away with it. Jackie is hired to take down the guys who did the robbery, and bring order back to the mob. This has broke them in a crumbling economy. Jackie thouh doesn't like getting up close and personal to the ones that he is hired for a hit on though and complicates things by wanting to bring in another hitman to help kill the three.


I think people made a little too big of a deal by the backing political messages in it. There in the background and so obscure that if they were trying to make a political statement it was poorly weaved in. You have a lot of strong acting, and interesting shots, but there is something lacking as far as the story development. Don't get me wrong, I do like short movies. Mostly because my attention span is quite awful , and I know shorter movies that are just as good as longer ones. It seems like Andrew Domink gets very lost in making cool shots instead of actually building his story though.

Russell is one of the first characters we see, and to be honest he just sets up a bad vibe for the movie. He looks gross, he doesn't have anything that is appealing. Everything he says just makes him more icky. Frankie is a tad more likable, but we don't see him enough to really get to know him. Overall, the impression left of him is that he is just a weasel. He seemed to be the guy of the two that had potential to be a better character though.

Jackie is an intriguing guy though, and Brad Pitt does a good job of giving us one character in the movie that seems a tad likable. He gets paid to do what he does, and he admits that he isn't a robot to feelings so he has to be careful about how he goes about being a hitman. James Gandolfini plays one of his hitman associates, Mickey, and while he is a very unlikable guy you can't help but watch when his character is on screen. He plays his coldness well, but there is nothing to like about him.

As said, you do have some very intriguing shots like when the two guys are doing drugs. Frankie and Russell have an interesting conversation, but it is only made interesting because of the way the director depicts their time talking while one of them is very high. Richard Jenkins also plays an unnamed character who seeks out Jackie for the killings. He doesn't even get out of the car the entire time he is in the movie though, so he has very little development.

Killing Them Softly stays a little ahead of the game with Brad Pitt being able to make his character Jackie cool and intriguing, but the others need something a little more to make us feel connected. In some ways you almost feel apathetic toward them, and for others you're just grossed out by. It's well shot though, and has scenes that keep it alive, but it just needs a little more development.

Rating 6 of 10.