Killing Them
Softly is a 2012 film based on the 1974 novel Cogan’s Trade by George V.
Higgins. The writer and director, Andrew Dominik, updated the story to reflect
our present-day economic crisis. The movie deals with the situation where
gambling is one of the financial fuels in the American economy.
During the
movie, you get to see the political campaign between Obama and McCain during
the 2008 American Presidential election. Other than the inclusion of Brad
Pitt’s fine acting, this movie was boring, and the dark comic relief that was
supposed to keep you watching kinda went over my head.
The movie
doesn’t boast fine cinematography either. Shots taken from the car were
sometimes a little out of frame, and I kept wishing the camera would be moved
to the front so I could see their faces instead of just their side profiles in
a shadowy exterior. Then there’s the dialogue, which seemed awfully too long
before something started happening. And then there’s the introduction of a
character, another hitman named Mickey Fallon (James Gandolfini), whose
presence or absence in the movie would not have made any difference. So it
beats me why the writer included him.
The movie plot
is about a greedy proprietor of a gambling ring in New Orleans, Markie Trattman
(Ray Liotta). Instead of just taking the money the house makes, he decides to
take it all and robs the place. He does this by hiring two men to come in while
he’s there and rob the place, making it look like he’s innocent. Many of the
crime gangs and his bosses weren’t pleased with what happened, so he was
interrogated and lied, saying he had nothing to do with it.
Things died down
for a while, but then during a timeout with his guys, drunk and excited, Markie
tells everyone that he was the one who robbed the gambling house. Now everyone
knows, but he’s left alive, and no one takes a whack at him—until...
One small-time
crook gets an idea: why not rob Markie’s gambling house again? This time,
people will think Markie did it again since he got away with it the first time.
It’ll also open some old wounds, and this will make Markie take the fall while
they get away with the money.
Things were
going well until Brad Pitt’s character, Jackie Cogan, was brought on board to
bring order to the situation. His introduction brings out the name of the
movie, as he says he likes “killing them softly”—shooting them at a distance so
he doesn’t have to witness the emotions of begging.
The thing is, independent filmmakers sometimes have a way of either making you run to the cinemas or making you wish you’d never taken the chance. I wish I’d never taken the chance.
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