'KILLING THEM SOFTLY'

'KILLING THEM SOFTLY' (R) (3 1/2 STARS)

Written by Andrew Dominik based on the novel "Cogan's Trade"
Directed by Andrew Dominik
Actors: Brad Pitt, Scoot McNairy, James Gandolfini, Richard Jenkins, Ray Liotta, Ben Mendelsohn, Sam Shepard, Max Casella.

A strange thing happened to me while watching "Killing Them Softly", the very careful and slow moving crime picture. I sat transfixed by a movie that really doesn't have a lot going on in it. I didn't know if I really liked what was going on in this movie until the last shot was over. I think it helped that I liked movies that it resembles, those 70's character studies about crime figures. Movies like "The Friends of Eddie Coyle", "Mikey and Nicky" and "The Killing of a Chinese Bookie" by John Cassavetes, a movie that was real hard to watch but that I loved.

"Killing Them Softly" is based on a crime novel that mixes a hitman character study with a commentary on the financial woes of our country in 2008. The movie follows two low life criminals who knock off a Mob run card game. The game is ran by Markle played by Ray Liotta and he is not really high up in the crime boss food chain. A hitman is called in named Jackie, played by Brad Pitt to wipe out the two men. A second man will be called in but I am explaining plot for a movie where the plot doesn't matter. The movie is all mood and talk punctuated with extreme, gritty violence. There is a lot of real "in your face" type violence here, not kids stuff.

The movie is directed by Andrew Dominik who directed another slow moving, different type of crime movie "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford". Both of Dominik's movies are beautifully shot reminding me of Terrence Malick. Both artists create slow moving movies that try to capture a mood and here the mood is grit, slime and depravity. "Killing Them Softly" is not an easy movie to like and it is definitely not for the mall crowd. It is for movie goers that love character studies that are breathtakingly shot and full of colorful dialogue. There is a lot of talk in this movie and is not for movie goers that want a lot of action and killing.

I love this kind of movie and it took me a while to figure out my feelings for it. It is a movie that works you over until in the end you find out you love it. I loved it because it is different and it brings me back to my favorite era of film making in the 70's. This movie also reminds me of John Cassavetes who I loved as a writer and director of crime, character studies. I love the look of this movie which reminds me of a good film noir. I even didn't mind the usual slow motion shooting scenes and I loved the wide screen shots and that Dominik doesn't rush the shots making the film's mood wash all over us.

I also loved the cast of this movie and all the performances especially Brad Pitt. Pitt is so assured and very cool here and it is a performance you usually don't see in a movie like this. It is not a showy performance and that is what I love about it. I love subtle performances more than the showy ones usually in movies and Pitt is perfect and effective here. He gets great support by James Gandolfini who plays a very interesting, boorish second hitman called in to help. Also I love seeing Richard Jenkins in anything and him and Pitt have some funny and smartly written scenes together. There is also a very compelling and star making performance by Scoot McNairy (Argo) as one of the young thugs.

"Killing Them Softly" is a movie that has stayed with me a long time after I have seen it. I love the dialogue, even the dialogue that is aimless because the actors saying it are so great and very great here. The violence in this movie looks more real than in most crime movies I see. Yes it might seem with the photography that the violence is stylized but I cringed and flinched a lot during those scenes. I love the mood and look of the movie and would see it again just for the cast, acting and look of the photography.

The movie's story is punctuated by background noise of President Obama and George Bush Jr. commenting on the country's recession on television. So the movie has a little more depth in it then just thugs and killers talking about their jobs. There is an added motivation of money for these men too, more than just killing a man. The movie is really saying that even hit men need money to stay alive in this economy. There is also probably the best written stream of dialogue by Pitt that I have heard in any movie this year. It is a commentary on America that I agreed with totally and that is profound, funny and brilliant. That ending commentary and Pitt's delivery of it is priceless and worth the price of admission. This is a movie that requires patience but if you are an adventurous movie goer you might love it as much as I did.