Killing Them Softly
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''Killing Them Softly'' is a 2012 American neo-noir
crime film Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...
written and directed by
Andrew Dominik Andrew Dominik (born 7 October 1967) is an Australian film director and screenwriter. He has directed the crime film '' Chopper'' (2000), the Western drama film '' The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford'' (2007), the neo-n ...
, starring Brad Pitt. It is based on George V. Higgins's 1974 novel '' Cogan's Trade.'' The story follows Jackie Cogan, a hitman who is hired to deal with the aftermath of a
Mafia "Mafia", as an informal or general term, is often used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the Sicilian Mafia, original Mafia in Sicily, to the Italian-American Mafia, or to other Organized crime in Italy, organiz ...
poker game robbery that ruptured the criminal economy. The events are set during the 2008 United States presidential election and the
2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...
. Also starring in the film are Scoot McNairy, Ben Mendelsohn,
Richard Jenkins Richard Dale Jenkins (born May 4, 1947) is an American actor. He is well known for his portrayal of deceased patriarch Nathaniel Fisher on the HBO funeral drama series ''Six Feet Under (TV series), Six Feet Under'' (2001–2005). He began his c ...
, James Gandolfini, Ray Liotta, and Sam Shepard. On May 22, 2012, the film premiered in competition for the Palme d'Or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival and received positive early reviews. ''Killing Them Softly'' was released on November 30, 2012, domestically by the Weinstein Company and internationally by Inferno Distribution, to mostly positive reviews and moderate financial success, grossing $37.9 million against a budget of $15 million.


Plot

During the
2008 financial crisis The 2008 financial crisis, also known as the global financial crisis (GFC), was a major worldwide financial crisis centered in the United States. The causes of the 2008 crisis included excessive speculation on housing values by both homeowners ...
and 2008 United States presidential election, Johnny "Squirrel" Amato plans to rob a
Mafia "Mafia", as an informal or general term, is often used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the Sicilian Mafia, original Mafia in Sicily, to the Italian-American Mafia, or to other Organized crime in Italy, organiz ...
-controlled private poker game. He enlists Frankie, a former business associate, and Russell, a
heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...
-addicted Australian immigrant who steals purebred dogs to sell in Florida. They target a game run by Markie Trattman, who is known to have previously orchestrated an inside job by paying two men to rob his own illegal poker game. Squirrel anticipates that Markie will be the obvious suspect, and the crime syndicate Markie is involved with will simply have him killed without investigating further. Though obviously inexperienced, Frankie and Russell successfully carry out the armed robbery, and escape with approximately $100,000. An enigmatic criminal boss named Driver discusses with hitman Jackie Cogan on how to deal with the situation created by the robbery: mob-operated poker games have stopped as players fear more violence, throwing the underground criminal economy into chaos. Although Jackie correctly intuits Markie was innocent, he believes Markie needs to die regardless, as if no example is made it would encourage further robberies by street level thugs. Driver pushes back strongly on having Markie murdered and Jackie reluctantly agrees to only having him beat up. Meanwhile, Russell travels to Florida with a man named Kenny Gill to sell the stolen dogs. While trying to recruit Kenny as a drug dealer, Russell inadvertently reveals his involvement in the heist. Kenny, being Dillon’s acquaintance, informs Dillon that Russell, Frankie, and Squirrel are the perpetrators. Jackie finally convinces Driver that Markie must die, and with Kenny driving, Jackie kills Markie from the rear seat of the car. Three targets remain: Russell, Frankie, and Squirrel, but there is a problem with the hit on Squirrel, as he and Jackie are acquainted. Jackie convinces Driver to bring in another hitman, Mickey Fallon, of whom Jackie speaks highly. While explaining why he wants to hire Mickey, Jackie explains to Driver his philosophy of "killing them softly", killing his targets from a distance or in ways which allow them no chance to experience fear, despair or suffering of any kind. Mickey, holed up in an expensive hotel room, indulges in binge drinking and sex with prostitutes instead of carrying out the hit. Admitting to Jackie how he violated his parole to be out of state, Jackie arranges Mickey's arrest and extradition back to New York, deciding to kill Squirrel himself. Before Jackie gets to him, Russell is arrested on a drug possession charge. Meanwhile, Jackie confronts Frankie and convinces him to trade Squirrel's whereabouts for his life. Jackie has Frankie drive him to where Squirrel will have his regular rendezvous with a woman, and he kills Squirrel with a shotgun. After confirming Squirrel is dead, Jackie and Frankie drive to the parking garage where Jackie shoots Frankie in the head without warning. Jackie wipes down the car and leaves the scene. On the night of the presidential election, Jackie meets with Driver to collect his fee for the three hits. On the TV in the bar,
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
is giving his election victory speech. The two argue over his fee, with Driver trying to pay a lesser amount. Jackie, mocking Obama's words on community, demands the full sum.


Cast


Production

''Killing Them Softly'' is based on the 1974 novel '' Cogan's Trade'' by George V. Higgins. ''Cogan's Trade'', like Higgins' other novels, takes place in Boston; although filmed in the New Orleans area, characters in ''Killing Them Softly'' make several references to Boston area suburbs from the original novel. The film was written and directed by
Andrew Dominik Andrew Dominik (born 7 October 1967) is an Australian film director and screenwriter. He has directed the crime film '' Chopper'' (2000), the Western drama film '' The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford'' (2007), the neo-n ...
, who chose to update the setting of the story, saying "as I started adapting it, it was the story of an economic crisis, and it was an economic crisis in an economy that was funded by gambling—and the crisis occurred due to a failure in regulation. It just seemed to have something that you couldn't ignore." The project was first announced in November 2010, when Brad Pitt was reported to be in talks to star in it. Dominik asked Pitt if he was interested in a role via a text message; he replied "yes" and the matter was settled over half an hour. Pitt previously co-starred in Dominik's '' The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford'' (2007). Production was scheduled to begin in
Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...
in March 2011, with pre-production beginning in January. Additional roles were cast in early 2011. According to Garret Dillahunt, the film's first cut was two-and-a-half hours long. Dillahunt, who had a cameo in the film, did not make the final cut for the theatrical release. The music in the film is primarily taken from pop, rock and R&B songs from many artists and decades, with the exception of one original song, "The Feeling in My Nuts", by Marc Streitenfeld, which James Christopher Monger of
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
said matched the film's "idiosyncratic nature". Rachel Fox supervised the song implementation. A soundtrack album was sold containing most of the songs heard in the film, and substituting some instrumental versions which were not heard. The song " Windmills of Your Mind", sung by
Petula Clark Sally "Petula" Clark (born 15 November 1932) is a British singer, actress, and songwriter. She started her professional career as a child actor, child performer and has had the longest career of any British entertainer, spanning more than 85 y ...
, was in the film but not included on the soundtrack album.


Release

''Killing Them Softly'' premiered at the 65th Cannes Film Festival on May 22, 2012, where it was selected to be "In Competition" for the Palme D'Or; it lost to '' Amour''. The film was scheduled to be released in the United States on September 21, 2012; however it was delayed until November 30, 2012, to avoid competing with '' The Master'' and to improve its chances for award nominations. The film kept its original release date in other parts of the world, with the somewhat unusual result that it opened in the UK and India more than two months before the US opening. The Weinstein Company distributed the film theatrically in the U.S. and Canada, while Inferno Distribution released internationally.


Home media

''Killing Them Softly'' was released by The Weinstein Company Home Entertainment and
Anchor Bay Entertainment The revived Anchor Bay Entertainment is an American independent film production and distribution company owned by Umbrelic Entertainment co-founders Thomas Zambeck and Brian Katz. Anchor Bay Entertainment markets and releases "new release genre ...
on Blu-ray & DVD March 26, 2013. The film was released in Australia earlier, on February 13, and on February 25 in the UK.


Reception


Box office

In its opening weekend, ''Killing Them Softly'' grossed $6.8 million. The film made $15 million domestically and $22.9 million internationally for a worldwide total of $37.9 million.


Critical response

On
Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
the film has an approval rating of 74% based on 234 reviews, with an average rating of 6.90/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "''Killing Them Softly'' is a darkly comic, visceral thriller that doubles as a cautionary tale on capitalism, whose message is delivered with sledgehammer force." On
Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...
, the film received a weighted average score of 64 out of 100, based on 42 critics indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Conversely, audiences polled by
CinemaScore CinemaScore is an American market research firm based in Las Vegas. It surveys film audiences to rate their viewing experiences with letter grades, reports the results, and forecasts box office receipts from the data. Background Ed Mintz, who ...
gave the film a rare average grade of "F" on an A+ to F scale. Peter Bradshaw of ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' gave ''Killing them Softly'' 5 stars, saying the film is a "compelling comment on economic bloodletting in the real world". Tim Robey of ''
The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'' gave the film 4 stars describing it as "bleakly electrifying". ''
Total Film ''Total Film'' was a British film magazine published 13 times a year (published monthly with a summer issue added, between the July and August issues, every year since issue 91, 2004) by Future Publishing. The magazine was launched in 1997 and of ...
'' awarded it 3 stars calling it "tough, stylish, violent and studded with stars" but countered that it "doesn’t quite get the job done".
Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
gave the film 2 stars out of 4, calling it "a dismal, dreary series of cruel and painful murders" cast in a similarly "dreary and joyless cityscape". He also found the performances dependent mostly on the actors' established screen presences while pointing out improbabilities in the plot, such as how the mafia manages to support itself without crimes involving civilians: "Like a captive animal struggling to free itself from a trap, they seem reduced to gnawing off their own legs."


References


External links

* (archived) * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Killing Them Softly 2012 films 2012 black comedy films 2012 crime drama films 2012 crime thriller films American black comedy films American crime drama films American gangster films American neo-noir films Films about the American Mafia Films set in the Great Recession Films about contract killing Films based on American novels Films based on crime novels Films directed by Andrew Dominik Films set in 2008 Films shot in New Orleans Plan B Entertainment films Annapurna Pictures films Films produced by Brad Pitt Films produced by Dede Gardner 2010s English-language films 2010s American films Cultural depictions of Barack Obama English-language black comedy films English-language crime drama films English-language crime thriller films