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 | hitman | poker game | global economic crisis of 2008 | 

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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

Richard Jenkins's character is never seen standing. He is either sitting in his car or sitting on a bar stool.

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Goofs

At one point in the movie Frankie mentions a bar in Haverhill. He pronounces it "haver-hill" but anyone living in New England knows it is pronounced "hay-vrul".

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Quotes

Russell: [to Frankie] Then after we go over to Orlando. We're gonna burn the car. So Kenny sticks a rag in the gas tank and he lights it off.
Kenny Gill: [flashback to when they're going to burn the car] Do be such a-Russell, you're a fucking pussy. I've done it a million fucking times.
[lights the rag with a lighter]
Kenny Gill: It's fine. It goes up like a fuckin bonfire. You'll love it.
[he walks away towards the back of the car and faces it from a few yards away. The rag's flame is spreading]
Kenny Gill: See?
[...]

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Connections

References Network (1976)

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Soundtracks

The Windmills of Your Mind
Written by Michel Legrand, Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman
Published by EMI U Catalog, Inc. (ASCAP)
Performed by Petula Clark

User Reviews

Talky, tedious and very, very violent

Softly is NOT how the killings are done. Before Brad Pitt starts pumping lead we see Ray Liotta subjected to one of the most brutal beatings I have seen on screen; you hear his teeth and ribs crack. The killings are equally visceral; this is not a film for the faint-hearted.

Brad sheds his Adonis persona for the grunge look he wore in FIGHT CLUB, although the character he's playing is a darker version of Tom Cruise's in COLLATERAL. Liotta reprises his role in GOODFELLAS. James Gandolfini builds on his Tony Soprano character to play another hit-man burnt out by too much booze and too many hookers. Richard Jenkins's creepy saturnine Mob Boss seems to extend his (dead!) undertaker from SIX FEET UNDER. There are lengthy talk scenes in cars and bars that bring PULP FICTION and GET SHORTY to mind. The background TV election campaigning by George Dubya and Barack Omaba is presumably meant to emphasise that this is a Serious Movie we're watching, but it's as unsubtle as the hurricane footage.

KILLING THEM SOFTLY shows its sources (or its "hommages") too blatantly. The whole thing is like a hyped-up Guy Ritchie or Quentin Tarantino: some good acting, stunning cinematography, a profanity-rich script, but overall a talky, pretentious and very, very violent movie - and quite tedious.