Despite the masterful performances from Pitt & Gandolfini it misses with its political theme in this dialogue driven, but brutal mob crime drama. -MN

This is a film that features great performances, most notably James Galdolfini and the very strange Ray Liotta. Killing Them Softly is dark, gritty and paints a harsh portrait of American criminal subcultures, metaphorically connecting this world to the world of capitalism and American politics. Despite its style, Killing Them Softly is a cynical, perhaps pretentious film that is unpleasant to watch due to tedious dialogue and brutal violence that feels gratuitous and senseless. Ultimately, the movie lacked soul.… Expand

Having not been privy to an advanced screening of the film, I suspect that many of my thoughts on Killing Them Softly may be redundant. However, I solemnly pledge that I have read not a single review of the film as of this writing.

In trailers for the film, Killing Them Softly was portrayed as a boiler plate mob flick casting Brad Pitt in the lead as a grim reaper type of character (reference Johnny Cash's song in the official trailer). The film fails to convince us of what it is and comes across served as half baked.

Maybe the greatest misdeed of the film is the elegant brilliance of James Gandolfini's obvious, yet subtle, troll. His appearance is epic, with ambient sound off and film slowed, as if some writer thought, "Hot damn! And in off the plane walks none other than f'n Tony Soprano, scratch that, James Gandolfini, and you just know that, the just got real." The embrace with Brad Pitt's character, Jackie Cogan, eludes to some sort of father-son kinship, only to remain unexplained, and the droning at the bar is merely sleight of hand, to distract us from the trolling taking place before our eyes. The final act of Gandolfini is the hotel room. References to a prong and the skin under the eyelids yield the conclusive data for this year's best silver screen troll. .

Pitt's mannerisms are so repetitive from one film to another it's difficult to suspend disbelief. Am I watching Brad Pitt play a producer play a mob hitman? Is this Billy Beane's alter ego? Or, am I watching Brad Pitt play Rusty Ryan playing a mob hitman? In the final scene the facade is gone and the viewers get a dose of politics as Pitt, or Cogan, if you wish, waxes eloquent on America as a business and Jeffersonian nuances. Cogan is apparently read up on his Howard Zinn. How remarkable.

As for Cogan, we have no bearing on his affections. He seems like he just wants to put it all behind him, or get the movie over with already. There is nothing a viewer can attribute his coolness in the face of callous murder to. Is he so chipper, easygoing, and collected in his scenes with the counselor because he knows the end of the film? He doesn't come across as psychopathic so what gives? Where are his demons? The film leaves you unfulfilled on this point. Gandolfini, however, plays it straight. Here's a guy who's banged up inside and turns to drink and hookers for his panacea. Typical human behavior for a life of hard knocks. Put Cogan up against Liotta's character in Goodfellas, or Billy Costigan in The Departed. Both come up as men who are staggering through their lives. Not so Jackie Cogan. It rings hollow.

Pitt is rehashing himself. Same sultry swagger, impeccable tailoring, and jaw-half-open pondering of what happens next. One is left thinking that the film was rushed to fit World War Z into the actor's schedule.

This writer's best guess is that studios have been notified that Mr. Pitt will only be taking roles in which he does not have to cut his hair. That is the only way this movie makes sense.

4/10 for effort on the part of the supporting cast and mercy on Ray Liotta.… Expand

It doesn't really make sense to hate a movie largely because it is an obvious allegory to (then) current events. So what if it is? I don't mind if they put at the beginning of the movie "This is an allegory to the financial crises of 2008". That could be the title of the movie for all I care. The question is if it is actually a good movie. And yes it is. True Romance/Resivior Dogs/Pulp Fiction like. Wish the larger story would have kept up throughout the film, but still.… Expand

The plot of this film is a thin as piss on concrete, but the filmmakers wanted to put a subversive (well in the end they push it in your face) message in it: America is a country where every man has to fend for himself, and if the economy is going down the drain they'll just have to fend a little harder The events in this movie move along ever so slowly, but they keep your attention focused with the engaging acting. There are many scenes that seemingly serve no purpose, it's more like spending time with the characters. They were smart enough not to stretch it out longer than 97 mins, which is about the right length for this kind of film.… Expand

Killing Them Softly.... it was killing me softly.... worst movie I have ever watched... Do not waste your time and money. It doesn't even worth a download.

Killing Them Softly is a well made hitman noir, it packs up great action sequences and great camera angles with great special SLO MO effects. But, this movie is incredibly long and has gaps that need to be filled in order for it to thrive and be a mega blockbuster. Overall, Killing Them Softly is one to watch.

killing them softly reminds me of one of those 20th century classical books. what you basically have is a simple setup for the story, but you cloak the story in metaphor, a metaphor that you let one of the main characters explain at the end of the story. i like the way how it is executed in this movie, to the extend that the actual story isn't even that much fun to watch, because it is sacrificed for the metaphor. it makes me feel really smart for having read the 20th century classical books.… Expand

This was no "Chopper".

I had high expectations, Read a glowing, two page review in The Boston Globe. Love dark, cynical crime films. Would watch Brad Pitt all day, every day. It had its moments. Cinematography was great. Richard Jenkins understated and perfect per usual. Based on a great book.

It just didn't work. Too much time spent on Gandolfini's Mickey breaking down. Way, way too much political posturing. Extremely disconcerting to know that it was supposed to be set in Boston, but could see easily that it wasn't. Pitt is such a fine actor and he wasn't given enough to work with. Best moment, best line at the very end. Really good ending. Made me smile. Wish the whole film felt like the ending.… Expand

The starting 25 minutes were mesmerizing. Sadly, it turned out to be just a revenge flick. It could have been so much more if they had actually tried to develop the characters before offing them one at a time.

Thats alot of dialog............and not very good dialog at that. Good twisting I think of plot, but not very creative. The violence the title would indicate rarely reveals itself. When it does, it is a bit shocking which is what i thought the movie should have more of. Pitt seems to be playing the same character again and again

I love the crime genre but this film STINKS. Corny, pretentious, cliché and preachy with a ham fisted delivery of an obvious and boring message. The few cool scenes of violence and decent performance by Ray Liotta and good performance by the old guy from 6 Feet Under do not come close to saving this turd. I'm a Brad Pitt fan but he was lame in this. The Aussie director obviously failed to grasp the nuance that makes a good American crime flick. Borrrrrring. I would rather stab my self in the neck than watch this piece of garbage again.… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The Good: Relatively intelligent story, it has depth. Mr Pitt always delivers and this is no exception. I also felt bad about the destiny of Ray Liottas character witch is a first. And there's nice cars all through this movie :) The hits performed are beautifully filmed, and considering the title I expected more of a shooter and was pleasantly surprised it wasn't so. The Bad: I am not an american, but I have been to New Orleans and this movie looks nothing like that place, it caught nothing of the Big Easy spirit. I grew tired of endless conversations between characters that couldn't hold my interest. Lastly; As much as this movie is not a gunslingin' shooter, it is, at times, a blatant orgy in violence. The talks could be made shorter, the violence could be made less exsplisit, But all in all, the movie is kinda boring, and I am usually the guy that says shooters suck.… Expand

The characters who die in "Killing them Softly" are ironically or not, not killed softly at all. In fact quite the opposite. Writer-director Andrew Dominik shoots these scenes in the noisiest way possible, employing graphic visuals, super slow motion executions, and shots ringing out so realistically loud-as if you were next to someone with a gun going off at point blank range, straining your eardrums. Organized crime in America is troubled, just like the rest of the economy with a business slowdown and a growing recession. The film seems to be trying--and failing-- to draw parallels between events unfolding in the film's forefront and the running background narrative of the 2008 financial meltdown and presidential election. Perhaps if the primary narrative were more coherently developed those parallels would be easier to understand. The plot of "Killing Them Softly" is bare, and straight forward. Three amateurs stickup a Mob protected card game, causing the local criminal economy to collapse. A genial guy named Markie Trattman (Ray Liotta) operates high-stakes poker games for the mob. One night the game is hit by two hooded stick-up men, who make off with a big pile of mob money. This in itself is suspicious, because it looks like an inside job, because who is crazy enough to attempt this brazen act. A high-level mob boss named Mickey (James Gandolfini) arrives in town and orders the executions of the amateurs by a hit man named Jackie (Brad Pitt), who likes to kill softly and briefly explains why. These are the first two of many, many mob-on-mob killings in the film. "Killing Them Softly" continues as a dismal, dreary series of cruel and painful murders, mostly by men who know one another, in a barren city where it's usually night and almost always raining. There is one female character in the film, a hooker employed by Mickey, who is the only mobster not exclusively obsessed with crime or money. As the body count grows, we meet Driver (Richard Jenkins), a gravel-voiced chief executive who appears often behind the wheel of a car parked in the wastelands beneath bridges. Fine cinematography continues to be one of the hallmarks of Andrew Dominik, but here we feel short changed at its abrupt ending that didn't go anywhere. It did its job in bringing current proceedings to a close, yet opening another door that left it hanging like an unfinished job. "Killing Them Softly" is a curiously dead movie (pun not intended). It never really gets off the ground and is strangely flat in spite of a generally excellent cast and a premise brimming with tough guy possibilities.… Expand

worst brad pitt movie ever,No significant story or purpose,empty dialogues and low budget film.Lucky i file shared this.Even a kid can write a better script than this.This type of movies should never made in future.

ok, so they rob the wrong people, but is always funny when you know the guys pulling it off are idiots, so you are just waiting for them to mess up. um, oh i know its an action movie but i laughed so much ina seen that i cried and then had a stomach ache, these guys have a sawed off shot gun and well you can see part of the bullet, well that just made the movie for me, i still cant stop thing what would happen if you pull the trigger.… Expand

Killing Them Softly assembles a first-rate cast and is consistently potent in its style, but its writing and direction is where it encounters its gravest problems. We have the likes of Brad Pitt, Ray Liotta, James Gandolfini, Richard Jenkins, and Scoot McNairy, along with director Andrew Dominik of The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford, which leads one to believe that we have a strong and viable mob drama on our hands. Unfortunately, we have a rather tedious, disappointing excursion awaiting us as we see that the product is combined of outdated mobster morals and lukewarm potboiler drama between its morosely captured characters.

We open the movie with mobster Russell (Ben Mendelsohn) attempting to convince his boss to hire a lowlife junkie named Frankie (Scoot McNairy) to pull off an operation involving the holdup of an illegal poker game. With much hesitation, the boss allows Russell and Frankie to pull off the holdup, and the film follows up with a long, dry robbery which is held in a concise building where a number of men in suits have gathered to exchange words, drinks, and hands, all run by crime boss Markie (Ray Liotta). Not long ago, Markie silently staged to have his own poker game robbed and kept quiet about it for a period of time, until openly releasing his involvement over a night of drinks. The gang allowed him one pass, but the next robbery, the one the film opens with, will be counted as Markie's fault and his involvement will be assumed from the get-go.

After this robbery, Jackie Cogan (Brad Pitt), a local hitman, is hired to restore all mob order. He is brought in by Driver (Richard Jenkins), who tells him that Markie must be taught a lesson. Jackie's idea of being "taught a lesson" is having him whacked not because of his guilt or involvement, but so confidence and loyalty can be restored among its members. Jackie later informs people like Driver and Mickey (James Gandolfini) that he enjoys killing his victims softly, avoiding any last minute pleading, weeping, begging, or negotiating. He prefers shooting from a distance, so all feeling is omitted but all pride is obtained.

So one could say the basic plot is a hitman is hired to kill a mob member who has been shortchanging loyalty. I suppose, but at numerous points in this picture did I need to remind myself of that. Killing Them Softly stages numerous sets of dialog, lasting anywhere from a couple minutes to scenes like the opening heist that go on for roughly eight. Certain monologues and characters could've easily been left out, such as Gandolfini's Mickey, whose dialog exchanged with Jackie in his hotel room shows off nothing but his misogyny and his ability to give hookers foul and rancid sex tips.

One thing that Dominik attempts to concoct throughout the film, but doesn't adhere to it until the final monologue of the film is the idea that "America isn't a country; it's a business," talking about every man for themselves, that we work individually not as a community, and all of us should function as anti-corporate individuals. I have no problem with that ideology or the polar opposite one being portrayed in a film, but it's the treatment that fails it for me. This is pretty generic formula that was well alive in films like Goodfellas and even so far back as The Godfather; two pictures that chew up and spit this one out. Throughout the film we see scenes punctuated with news stations or billboards showing former president George W. Bush, 2008 Republican nominee John McCain, or current president Barack Obama either reminding us that America is in consistent turmoil or that our financial future will be restored under their presidency. The purpose of these clips is not announced until the final scene in the film, and never do we get a solid character opinion on the political system in America; which is odd considering we are bombarded with boring, irrelevant banter from mobster archetypes for roughly one hundred minutes.

Killing Them Softly wants to showcase award-winning, renowned actors in a mob thriller. It also wants to show us how American politics have falsely and artificially reminded us we are united as one, when we all work with very different agendas. And it wants to show the sporadic conversations that can derail off course easily and never fully regain or pick up any traction. The point is I get it. I get what the film was trying to pull off. My problem is that it undermines the talent involved, and takes a simple, sufficient idea and makes it a lot preachier than need be, acts as if it's trying something new, and then gives us the atmosphere of the seventies, with grit and old-fashioned cars, but nudging it to fit current, rough, uncertain times.… Expand

90 minutes of a well constructed, albeit dark, crime thriller that should be praised for it's originality (how many mob movies actually try to have an underlining message?) rather than dismissed for its pace or lack of conventional mob movie aesthetics. I expect great things from Dominik in the future, and although this film was not a "box office smash" I expect over time this film will surface as a cult classic. If you want a mobster/crime movie that exhibits all the obvious qualities spoon fed to you - watch Gangster Squad.… Expand

Killing Them Softly was an interesting blend of great scenes and forced spoon feeding. While the title implies a subtle delivery (and thus an expectation of heavy interaction), the audience is bombarded with explanation and repetition.

a film by a director in love with brad pitt's image... nothing new under the sun. nonetheless, the cast THE CAST THE CAST is remarkable, some of the photography tricks are good and the soundtrack remarkable. this is kind of a sleeper, since it was thrased in 65th cannes. it is worth the while and kind of makes you expect what its director might achieve next.

Worst movie ever made.

This is one of my favorite films of 2012 and lands at number 14 on my top films of 2012 list. Will probably be overlooked at awards season, but is definitely worth seeing for a few great performances and a solid narrative.

epic

Despite the talent of the actors in Andrew Dominik's film noir, Kissing Them Softly, this film was highly unlikable for the simple reason that there is not one single character in the movie you care about - dead or alive. The political overtones were heavy handed and the considerable talent wasted on this very dark, boring script.

epic

epic

supermegaultraepic

After giving two excellent films last year (i.e. The Tree of Life, Moneyball), Brad Pitt decided to give a try to something different, something that is not so mainstream and hence he decided to do Killing Them Softly. Honestly, I didn't like the film that much, the performances are good, no doubt, but in a neo-noir crime film, I expect a little more than just good performances. It would have been a great film if there were any mysteries incorporated in film's plot, but sadly, there wasn't a single mystery, just a simple plot and a predictable outcome. The only reason I decided to watch this film was Brad Pitt. If you think of this movie considering only Pitt in mind, then this movie is okay. The best things about this film are those slow-motion scenes and the last five minutes when Barack Obama is making a speech on television. There is nothing new in this film, nothing you haven't seen before.… Expand