Killing Them Softly

[Lottery]

I loved the opening title sequence with Obama's speech. I felt if he just kept that and omitted the rest it would have been fine.

Yeah, stylistically that was brilliant.

[Reel]

Yeah, I found it hard to believe these down and out thug types would have the least bit of interest in politics. They'd be watching the game.

[Lottery]

Anyway, Dominik's good with criminals and that's clearly his speciality but it will be interesting what his Monroe biopic/book adaptation will be like.

"He went on to say that the film is "about her whole life. It starts when she's seven and it ends when she dies." He also compared it to "a Polanski descent-into-madness-type movie," which sounds pretty much excellent. He added to that by saying, "It's very pseudo-Freudian. The lines between fantasy and reality become very blurred in the story." "

That sounds pretty cool.

[Neil]

I wouldn't say that the plot device is completely useless, because I do agree with Brad and Lotto, but, I just feel it was a bit forced, like many others have noted.  also, it does slow waaaaaay down in the middle and get unnecessarily talky, like others have also mentioned, but there were some great camera moves and lush scenery throughout, which kept my criticisms at bay throughout the film.

[pete]

thought about it a while after seeing the film and I realized how overrated it is and how hungry we've been for another great crime film that'll mirror what we're taking for granted on TV these days - and I'm now lumping films like Drive and Killer Joe into this category as well. I really don't think any of it holds up and I think Dominik is the wrong guy for this kinda material as he still makes choices that are too ethereal. I don't know, maybe he's not experienced enough in the genre. I just feel like none of the sequences in the film, under scrutiny, has the freshness that it first promises. The better bits of the film are bits that are more obviously reminiscent of other films (such as the slo mo shootout in a car plus the rain plus a good soundtrack - three genre staples put to good use). But what we really want (and I'm speaking for every living person now) is something like Un Prophete or The Sopranos or a Kintano flick or that new one from Korea that's supposed to be great.
American gangster films have just been torn for a while, between directors showing off their flourishes and a story that rings true. When compared to the gangster films from Europe and Asia or even on American television, it's all been a little thin. Even Scorsese's The Departed feels a bit childish compared to the Hong Kong version (though his filmmaking was way better). In short, we just don't have good genre directors in the US.

[Alexandro]

Most of the folks in the film are losers. These are very desperate people. Gandolfini, I imagine summarises the condition of a lot of the characters. Even the tough hitmen are useless, broken wrecks without direction- which I guess plays into the whole state of the country thing. It seems a bit aimless but I guess it's there to illustrate that sort of misery. Pitt was more of an observer, very much unwilling to be caught up in it- but at the end, you see that perhaps he is.

This is why it's so brilliant. this is not a normal crime film. it doesn't want to be that. you know how a lot of times genre films are strictly about their plot and universes to comment on a bigger situation? this is not it. this one wants to make it clear that the world this criminals live in is collapsing from the top.

[Neil]

I agree with you Alexandro, this is most definitely not your average crime film, though it had no choice but to be advertised as such. However, I understand this is not the films fault and this is all beside the point.

I enjoy your outlook because this film doesn't really give the audience a ton of stake in the people who commit the crime, instead it's focused on those who are hired to solve the problem much like you've already pointed out.

this [film] wants to make it clear that the world these criminals live in is collapsing from the top.

It's all about the criminals. But not about the crimes they commit, which is interesting.

Another aspect about the film I enjoy is that there are very few details, though they are important ones, with regards to the money itself.  For instance, I like that the money is being gambled in a back-alley card game of sorts, you know behind the scenes, out of the public eye, OFF THE BOOKS!! This is a fantastic use of metaphor, though it's subtle in there. I like that there had been a previous robbery and then Liotta admitting to setting it up. That's not only a fantastic plot device, it's another great use of metaphor.

I think I've underestimated or underappreciated Dominik, but man, how do you justify that nailing-over-the-head political speech. I mean, I LOVE the idea, just not crazy about the execution, and i am speaking specifically about the political speech as a way to promote the themes this film is meant to explore.  It most definitely could have been used more efficiently, but that's something that is really easy to say.  At this point I'm really just echoing everyone else, but boy this film was so much fun to look at, I just think Dominik knows exactly what he's doing and I should trust that, I'm just not sure it works. I should give it a few more views.