Killing Them Softly

Although Killing Them Softly is ultimately unsatisfying, it's one of the most interesting crime films I've seen. Written and directed by Andrew Dominik and based on a pulp novel, it ties the minor incident of a poker-game robbery with the collapse of the economy in 2008.

Set in Boston, the film concerns two minor hoods, played with sleazy intensity by Scooter McNairy and Ben Mendelsohn, who sign on to rob a poker game. They think they will get away with it because the runner of the game, Ray Liotta, robbed his own game once before, and everyone will think he did it.

After the robbery, Brad Pitt comes on as smooth hit man. He sorts out that Liotta probably didn't do it, but has to die anyway because people think he did it, and thus he can't be seen getting away with it. Eventually Pitt figures out who did it, and brings in another hit man (James Gandolfini), whom he finds has gone to seed, interested only in booze and whores.

While the film is excessively violent (Liotta takes a beating that is unusually realistic), with brains splattering and plenty of blood, the film is not paced like a typical crime film. Dominik has sort of made the thinking man's gangster film, making it a commentary on capitalism. Dominik says, in the supplemental material, that crime is the brute form of capitalism: crooks are only interested in money.

Where the film lets down is a lack of conflict. Sure, plenty of people get offed, but Pitt's character barely breaks a sweat. The title comes from his penchant for killing people from a distance, so there's no emotion involved, but he ends killing someone up close, so I guess it's not a big problem for him. Also, he's the de facto protagonist, and he never faces any obstacles. He could be the Pitt from Inglorious Basterds, minus the accent.

This film would be a good discussion topic in an economics class. Pitt's last line pretty much sums it up: "America is not country, it's a business. Now pay me."