Killing Them Softly
In this dark comic crime thriller, a couple of drug-addled low-lifes rob a mob-protected poker game. Enforcer Jackie Cogan (Brad Pitt) is tasked with tracking the thieves down, and making an example of them to restore confidence in a grubby business built on trust. Pitt re-teams with Kiwi-born director Andrew Dominik after The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Also stars James Gandolfini, Ray Liotta and Richard Jenkins.
While the collapse of the U.S. and global economy lurks in the background, Killing Them Softly depicts a criminal underworld that, like Wall Street, runs on perception, reputation and bureaucratic process - not to mention a bunch of poorly paid Average Joes making a living by doing unpleasant work for their bosses.
- Director:
- Andrew Dominik ('Chopper', 'The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford')
- Writer:
- Andrew Dominik
- Cast:
- Brad PittScoot McNairyBen MendelsohnJames GandolfiniVincent CuratolaRichard JenkinsRay LiottaTrevor Long
Reviews & comments
Killing Them Softly
Killing Them Softly is essential viewing. Gritty, tense, darkly funny and one of the best films of the year. Director Andrew Dominik uses the same stylish direction and stunning cinematography as his previous work, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. One of Killing Them Softly's greatest strengths is it's cast. Brad Pitt plays...
Arty violence anyone?
If you like the idea of seeing a bullet enter someone's head in extreme slow motion this is your film! It's really just another gangland film pretending to be a social commentary on greed and violence in America. Once again Brad Pitt struggles to maintain his accent, James Gandolfini is still Tony Soprano and the American crime flick makes us all glad we...
Good but not great.
Whilst I'm not going to argue that it was a great movie, I am going to rustle some jimmies and say it's not the best thing I've ever seen, not even the best thing I've seen this year. It has some interesting points: life is cheap, the underworld is equally impacted by the recession and the glory days of the old organised crime world have gone. Intriguing,...
Killing Them Bleakly...
Kiwi-born 'Chopper' director Andrew Dominik reunites with 'The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford' star Bradley Pitt for a dark, brooding noir that proves they can and do make 'em like they used to. Dominik's script (loosely based on George Higgins' crime thriller 'Cogan's Trade') oozes menace and well-wrought dialogue, as Pitt's mob...
Another slice of genius from Andrew Dominik
Andrew Dominik's cold-blooded satire of American corporate-political-capitalism cuts through its subject like a freshly sharpened guillotine blade. At least someone clearly wants retribution for the two trillion seventy billion dollars that Bush and Obama handed out to the banks while America sank in its own mud. The Aussie auteur responsible for the...
Solid, but maybe forgettable
In the tradition of underworld crime dramas such as The Godfather, Andrew Dominik's Killing Them Softly is a tense and gripping tale of gangland politics, yet reaches for more with sharp allegory and moments of biting satirical jabs at the bureaucratic mishandling of the recent financial crisis. Featuring an impressive ensemble of solid performances,...
Total Film
pressTough, stylish, violent and studded with stars – but like so many of its American gangsters, Killing Them Softly doesn't quite get the job done.
Time Magazine
pressDespite enough pummeling to flatten Rocky Balboa in all six movies, the only thing that truly rewards your attendance is Pitt in another effortless star performance.
The Guardian
pressThis is an unrepentantly cynical take on the hope-and-change promised to the US in 2008; this year's election race makes it look even bleaker, an icily confident black comedy of continued disillusion.
Hollywood Reporter
pressThe film is terribly smart in every respect, with ne'er-a-false note performances and superb craft work from top to bottom.
Empire Magazine
pressA good, efficient crime thriller, let down by clunky social commentary but lifted by excellent performances, including perhaps Brad Pitt's recent best.
Total Film
pressTough, stylish, violent and studded with stars – but like so many of its American gangsters, Killing Them Softly doesn't quite get the job done.
Time Magazine
pressDespite enough pummeling to flatten Rocky Balboa in all six movies, the only thing that truly rewards your attendance is Pitt in another effortless star performance.
The Guardian
pressThis is an unrepentantly cynical take on the hope-and-change promised to the US in 2008; this year's election race makes it look even bleaker, an icily confident black comedy of continued disillusion.
Hollywood Reporter
pressThe film is terribly smart in every respect, with ne'er-a-false note performances and superb craft work from top to bottom.
Empire Magazine
pressA good, efficient crime thriller, let down by clunky social commentary but lifted by excellent performances, including perhaps Brad Pitt's recent best.
Killing Them Softly
Killing Them Softly is essential viewing. Gritty, tense, darkly funny and one of the best films of the year. Director Andrew Dominik uses the same stylish direction and stunning cinematography as his previous work, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. One of Killing Them Softly's greatest strengths is it's cast. Brad Pitt plays...
Arty violence anyone?
If you like the idea of seeing a bullet enter someone's head in extreme slow motion this is your film! It's really just another gangland film pretending to be a social commentary on greed and violence in America. Once again Brad Pitt struggles to maintain his accent, James Gandolfini is still Tony Soprano and the American crime flick makes us all glad we...
Good but not great.
Whilst I'm not going to argue that it was a great movie, I am going to rustle some jimmies and say it's not the best thing I've ever seen, not even the best thing I've seen this year. It has some interesting points: life is cheap, the underworld is equally impacted by the recession and the glory days of the old organised crime world have gone. Intriguing,...
Killing Them Bleakly...
Kiwi-born 'Chopper' director Andrew Dominik reunites with 'The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford' star Bradley Pitt for a dark, brooding noir that proves they can and do make 'em like they used to. Dominik's script (loosely based on George Higgins' crime thriller 'Cogan's Trade') oozes menace and well-wrought dialogue, as Pitt's mob...
Another slice of genius from Andrew Dominik
Andrew Dominik's cold-blooded satire of American corporate-political-capitalism cuts through its subject like a freshly sharpened guillotine blade. At least someone clearly wants retribution for the two trillion seventy billion dollars that Bush and Obama handed out to the banks while America sank in its own mud. The Aussie auteur responsible for the...
Solid, but maybe forgettable
In the tradition of underworld crime dramas such as The Godfather, Andrew Dominik's Killing Them Softly is a tense and gripping tale of gangland politics, yet reaches for more with sharp allegory and moments of biting satirical jabs at the bureaucratic mishandling of the recent financial crisis. Featuring an impressive ensemble of solid performances,...
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