Killing Them Softly

Name: Killing Them Softly
Genre: Drama, Thriller, Crime
Released: November 30, 2012
Duration: 97 min
Rating: 64
Cast: Ben Mendelsohn, Brad Pitt, James Gandolfini, Ray Liotta, Richard Jenkins

2012

METASCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 42 Critic Reviews

See All

USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 295 Ratings

See All

6.1

VOTE NOW

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

6.1	Your Score
6.1	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 295 Ratings

Would you like to write a review?

There is a 75 character minimum for reviews. If your review contains spoilers, please check the Spoiler box. Please do not use ALL CAPS. There is no linking or other HTML allowed. Your review may be edited for content. 0/5000

Check box if your review contains spoilers

Play Sound

Please enter your birth date to watch this video:

You are not allowed to view this material at this time.

Killing Them Softly

Now Playing: Killing Them Softly

Movie Details & Credits

Weinstein Company, The | Release Date: November 30, 2012 | R

Starring: Ben Mendelsohn, Brad Pitt, James Gandolfini, Ray Liotta, Richard Jenkins, Sam Shepard, Scoot McNairy

Summary: Adapted from George V. Higgins novel and set in New Orleans, Killing Them Softly follows professional enforcer, Jackie Cogan, who investigates a heist that occurs during a high stakes, mob-protected, poker game. (Weinstein Company)

Director: Andrew Dominik

Genre(s): Drama, Thriller, Crime

Rating: R

Runtime: 97 min

See All Details and Credits

More You Might Like

The Host

The Grey

tbd

Main Street

The Voices

Dark Tide

Watch Now

Stream On

Buy On

Metascore

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Critic Reviews

100

Owen Gleiberman

Nov 28, 2012

Killing them Softly is a lurid and nasty little nihilistic hitman noir, with an ingenuity that sneaks up on you. Read full review

Ty Burr

Nov 29, 2012

A bleakly comic, brutally Darwinian gangland saga that at times comes close to being this year's "Drive." It also does something that, if you're from around these parts, seems downright perverse. It takes the Boston out of George V. Higgins. Read full review

Andrew O'Hehir

Nov 30, 2012

This is a deliberately chilly and nerve-wracking experience, and one of the bleakest portraits of American society seen on-screen in the last several decades. Read full review

Liam Lacey

Nov 29, 2012

A stylish, brutal affair that delivers grim atmosphere and punishing violence but loses impact in telegraphing its political punches. Read full review

Anthony Lane

Nov 26, 2012

What is most disconcerting about Dominik's film is his choice of rhythm. We pass from reams of conversation, or cantankerous monologue, to throes of extreme violence, then back to the flood of words - most of them to do with buying, selling, slaying, whoring, or doing time. Read full review

Joe Morgenstern

Nov 29, 2012

The film, for all its visual felicities, comes to life only sporadically. Read full review

Rex Reed

Nov 28, 2012

A filthy, pretentious, brutally violent and utterly pointless load of rubbish called Killing Them Softly. Read full review

SEE ALL 42 REVIEWS

Write a Review

User Reviews

RobbinsFilms

Dec 1, 2012

Be warned, Killing Them Softly is an anti-thriller. Instead of gangster action, most of what you see is conversation. Or better yet, negotiation. Because the film is set in 2008 during the financial crisis, what these lowlifes are most desperately chasing, is just a bit more money. So evenBe warned, Killing Them Softly is an anti-thriller. Instead of gangster action, most of what you see is conversation. Or better yet, negotiation. Because the film is set in 2008 during the financial crisis, what these lowlifes are most desperately chasing, is just a bit more money. So even though the dialogue is razor-sharp and the performances are amazing, from an A list cast, most people don't want to watch negotiation for an hour and forty minutes. This is a more European take on the American crime drama, even though Andrew Dominik is Australian. The movie has a lot in common with Drive. And like that movie, this one will divide audiences between those put off by the angry tone, gruesome violence, and long periods of inaction. Which might be a problem if not for the incredible stylistic passion that bursts through every frame. Even when it's just two people talking in a bar, subtle camera movements, musical cues, and acting decisions always keep your attention.… Expand

5 of 9 users found this helpful54

MarkHH

Nov 5, 2013

What it is about people who object to intelligent and interesting dialogue? Most of the people on this forum hated the movie for these very reasons. Anyway, to avoid pedantic remarks, let me just get on with this review and say that this was a surprisingly good film that reaffirms goodWhat it is about people who object to intelligent and interesting dialogue? Most of the people on this forum hated the movie for these very reasons. Anyway, to avoid pedantic remarks, let me just get on with this review and say that this was a surprisingly good film that reaffirms good filmmaking. The closing remarks in the bar by Pitt's character summed it all up rather nicely. Not too many movies are able to do this. The reason this movie failed is that not many people in the audience have a clue as what he was saying and the significance of it.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

ultralight47

Dec 4, 2012

I'm not sure exactly why but I Iiked "listening" to this movie. It's not Quentin Tarrantino but, the conversations between the characters, and there are many of them, are simple, almost unremarkable, and yet still somehow interesting. The violence that I expected is not that bad compared toI'm not sure exactly why but I Iiked "listening" to this movie. It's not Quentin Tarrantino but, the conversations between the characters, and there are many of them, are simple, almost unremarkable, and yet still somehow interesting. The violence that I expected is not that bad compared to other comparable movies and it is artfully done in some instances. There's not a lot going on; it's basically revenge for a crime committed against criminals. They talk a lot; I liked hearing it.… Expand

4 of 5 users found this helpful41

Apemonkey666

Mar 31, 2013

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 aThe 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

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

Nesbitt10

Jan 29, 2013

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 soThe 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

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

CBN

Nov 30, 2012

I wouldn't recommend this film to anyone, well I take that back. If you detest all the films your girlfriend/wife/mistress etc make you go see then I suggest this film, cause she'll be miserable after it. But then again, you will be too so.

3 of 7 users found this helpful34

Smee

Jan 27, 2013

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.

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

SEE ALL 86 REVIEWS

52	#52 Most Discussed Movie of 2012
89	#89 Most Shared Movie of 2012