Killing Them Softly

When a movie starring Brad Pitt is released in late November, there’s a pretty good bet that it’s meant to draw the attention of award show voters. But it seems that those chances are slim this year. Killing Them Softly has Brad Pitt playing a hit man brought in to take care of those responsible for robbing a high stakes, mob connected card game. In reality, one of thieves, played by Scoot McNairy, is actually the film’s lead. McNairy’s performance is by far the most dynamic of the film, capturing emotion and the audience’s sympathy much more than his counterparts.

Pitt does well, but his character is completely flat. We know he’s a fairly nice guy… as far as hit men go. But the character is written to be an enigma of sorts, so it’s no fault of Pitt’s. James Gandolfini gives a really intriguing performance but only appearing in two scenes really limits the development. In fact, that can be said for a lot of the movie. It’s strangely organized with a ton of bit characters that come and go and a very forced backdrop of the 2008 Presidential election. Obviously the characters are suffering financially, but the connection that is made with Brad Pitt’s final monologue is weird. Are we meant to agree with him? It’s hard to tell.

Killing Them Softly has its moments visually. McNairy’s character enters the film in dramatic shadow, which seems like it will set the tone for the film. But most of the story has a more traditional look filled with the ugly realities of a poorer community. The realistic violence that is put on display is needlessly gruesome. Even with a hit man used as the film’s selling point, the violence is very often unnecessary. The “cool” guys sitting near me in the theater seemed to find it hysterical, but for the civilized world, it’s a bit much.

Each film earns either zero, a half or a full arrow in five categories. The categories are Acting, Writing/Directing, Emotion, Innovation and Overall Impression. The arrows are added up to equal the full score.