Killing Them Softly (2012)

Jackie Cogan is an enforcer hired to restore order after three dumb guys rob a Mob protected card game, causing the local criminal economy to collapse.

Director:

Andrew Dominik

Writers:

Andrew Dominik (screenplay), George V. Higgins (based on the novel "Cogan's Trade" by)

Stars:

Brad Pitt, Ray Liotta, Richard Jenkins

3 wins & 8 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Brad Pitt	...	Jackie
Scoot McNairy	...	Frankie
Ben Mendelsohn	...	Russell
James Gandolfini	...	Mickey
Richard Jenkins	...	Driver
Vincent Curatola	...	Johnny Amato
Ray Liotta	...	Markie Trattman
Trevor Long	...	Steve Caprio
Max Casella	...	Barry Caprio
Sam Shepard	...	Dillon
Slaine	...	Kenny Gill
Linara Washington	...	Hooker
Ross Brodar	...	Poker Guy
Wade Allen	...	Business Suit Agent
Christopher Berry	...	Cab Driver Agent

Storyline

Three amateurs stickup a Mob protected card game, causing the local criminal economy to collapse. Brad Pitt plays the hitman hired to track them down and restore order.

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Plot Keywords:

nihilism | neo noir | vomit | hitman | poker game | 

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Taglines:

In America you're on your own

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Genres:

Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, sexual references, pervasive language, and some drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 November 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cogan's Trade

Filming Locations:

Claiborne Avenue Bridge, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$6,812,900, 2 December 2012, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$15,026,056

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$37,930,465

Company Credits

Production Co:

Plan B Entertainment,1984 Private Defense Contractors,Annapurna Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min 150 min (rough cut)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital Datasat

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Sam Shepard (Dillon) & Ben Mendelsohn (Russell) also worked together on Bloodline (2015) as Robert Rayburn & Danny Rayburn respectively.

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Goofs

When the brothers Caprio drive upon the road and park at the right side of the road in which Markie Trattmans house is set, a white luxury car is seen on the left side of the road. After a dialogue between the Carpio brothers a next shot of the street is shown when Markie Trattman drives down the road to park at the left side, this white luxury car disappears.

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Quotes

Jackie Cogan: What's he gonna do, fold under questioning? If he does, they'll kill him. If he doesn't, they'll figure he's lying like last time and they'll kill him. Either way, Markie's dead. So why put the poor bastard through a beating? It's a waste of time - not to mention a really unpleasant experience for Markie. Just put him out of his misery, poor bastard.
Jackie Cogan: What's the problem?
Driver: It's murder and they are squeamish.
Jackie Cogan: Oh, for fuck's sake.

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Connections

Featured in Bad Movie Beatdown: Review of 2012 (2013)

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Soundtracks

Money (That's What I Want)
Written by Janie Bradford and Berry Gordy
Performed by Barrett Strong

User Reviews

Why Even Make This Movie

This movie was so bad, I decided to create an IMDb account finally and hopefully save other people from being duped by the positive reviews.

Simply put, this is a movie that never needed to be made. There is almost no story to it and what little story there is is told in a horribly long and drawn out way. This includes lots of conversations between characters that have absolutely no relevance to the plot among other things. One of the biggest pointless inclusions in this movie is the frequent clips of Bush & Obama credit crunch speeches that are spliced in virtually everywhere in this film. Although the movie is set right around 2008, there's no relevance to the story at all and it's almost like Brad Pitt is trying to make a political point but isn't really clear on what the point is. I'm confident they could've edited this down to a short story and told us the entire story in 10 minutes and it would've been enjoyable. Instead, it was 90 minutes of waiting for it to get going. I don't need big action to keep my simple mind entertained, but I do like my movies to have a good plot and a sense of movement. Lawless for instance doesn't move incredibly fast, but you are glued the whole time. This movie has none of it and I was not surprised at all to see 3 people walk out just over half way through as I was thinking of doing the same thing myself.

I really like Brad Pitt and I would struggle to think of a bad movie he's been in up until this one came along. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone even if it's free. I only wish I could have the 90 minutes of my life back.