Killing Them Softly reviewed by Mark Kermode

[@bennoclassico]

My favourite film of 2012. If people still can't see Dominik's brilliance then they are blind to what a unique filmmaker he is. Perfect cast, perfect film. Immediately hit my favourite of the year the moment I stepped in the cinema.

[@TxxT33]

Coulnd't agree more. Too bad he's only made 3 movies so far...

[@DeepEye1994]

I don't get why everyone hates this movie for being "long" or "boring". I liked how silent and dark it was, it made me dive inside the degenerated world of the movie and I loved to see how the characters interact with each other and Brad Pitt's character was badass. I can kinda get why some people can dislike the "down to earth" style of the movie, but for me it completely worked, for me it was one of my favorite 2012 films.

[@Frip36]

If I'm in a theatre on Saturday night and excited to see a gangster movie, I'd be bored with the movie. It's a movie best appreciated in your home where you can take your time with it.

[@rohme]

Kermode nailed it! One of the very best films of last year, along with The Master. Acting, direction, visual freshness, boldness...it's all there.

[@jackfahy2283]

Andrew Dominik has never made a bad film, this film is amazing, great little cast put together and very Violent, Dark & Gritty.

[@arbide3]

Just saw this movie. It is amazing and Brad Pitt's speech at the end is absolutely incredible.

[@Frip36]

It's very good. And the speech is excellent. Stop exaggerating. All you do is exaggerate.

[@jadedavis822]

Amazing and true

[@SoupieGuitar]

all the reasons that you just stated as being weak points, are what I found to be it's strengths, a film that doesn't have to distract you with explosions and action, like so many films these days. I thought the scenes where people are being "talky" were really gripping, as it gave you a very real feeling experience. people do talk in real life, they don't blow things up and have car chases and things in real life :D

[@Garciamrcool]

I enjoyed it. Brad Pitt really suffers with bad parts and directors these days but he was terrific and magnetic in this.

[@jfrsnjhnsn]

If rumors are correct, Dominik wanted this movie to be 2 1/2 hours long, so credit for its short length would in fact go to the producers.

[@sammysam2615]

Without question this film was and is Brad Pitts best role. It was absolutely outside of the "normal" role we're used to seeing him play. Very similar to Tom Cruise in Collateral. From then till now, the principal of the film fits perfectly with reality we live in today

[@Sheriff_GrimLaw]

Nah, no way. Jesse James is his best role and one of the greatest films ever made. Ever Pitt apparently says it is his favourite film that he's been in. 10/10

[@danieldoherty8101]

I loved this film, still do, Andrew Dominik needs to make more film's.

[@michaelcarter8120]

I agree with everything he said but I believe he should have given more credit to the author of the book this film is based on, “Cogan’s Trade” by George Higgens. Higgens also wrote another great crime novel, “Friends of Eddie Coyle” which was made into a movie of the same name. George V. Higgens was an attorney who served as Deputy Assistant Attorney for the state of Massachusetts and as Assistant United States Attorney where he spent 7 years in anti-organized crime units. He had 1st hand experience with the actual criminals who committed the crimes on behalf of ‘The Bosses’. His characters aren’t intelligent people. They’re usually the exact opposite. In reality, these are the types of people committing crimes. They live in the poorer sections of town. They struggle to stay ahead financially and are very familiar with courtrooms. They have very few redeeming qualities, if any. “The Departed” is a great film, but it’s not realistic. Higgens gave us a true picture of crime in his novels. He did it in a way that makes his books something you want to read. To me, that’s very difficult. Don’t get me wrong, Andrew Dominik did a fantastic job of adapting Higgens book to the screen. I just want to give George V. Higgens some credit. P.S. If you enjoyed this film I highly recommend watching “Friends of Eddie Coyle”.

[@joeb5765]

Spot on. Higgins is a genius.

[@thursdayfilmstock]

I thought this film was amazing, having just watched Skyfall and Django it was a surprise for a film to end at exactly the right place.

[@jpgiuliotti]

George V. Higgins novels - specifically his crime reads - are tough to make into "crime films" that are palatable for most of the modern audience who like the genre. I think it is because Higgins infuses tons of dialogue in his novels and the dialog itself is leaned on heavily to drive his storylines, understand character backgrounds and of course, provide exposition. His is dialog is A: Laced with criminal slang that is told in hard, fast, blue-collar 'Boston-ese'** that is hard to understand (I'm from Boston and sometimes have trouble with it) and B: Often goes off on tangents that have no (direct) relation to the story itself. Because the films, "Killing Them Softly" (from the novel "Cogan's Trade") and "The Friends of Eddie Coyle" (from the novel of the same name), borrow heavily (often word for word) their respective book's dialogue, they seem to have very little middle ground when it comes to audience acceptance where most opinions are either "they are boring" or "they are very good, very real and in some cases, masterpieces". I happen to be in the latter camp of the "very good / very real" (wouldn't say masterpieces) and what helps me with that is that I am a fan of George V. Higgins and his writing and that, I believe, helps with appreciating the film adaptations. Crime movie audiences have historically been conditioned for action sequences, violence and overt bad & good guys with a clear delineation between them. You don't get that in either of the adapted Higgins films and those that want and expect this, are probably in the camp of the former opinion above. **Note - TFoEC novel and film are explicitly set in Boston and KTS's source novel, Cogan's Trade, is also set in Boston as is the the film. However, the film's location is presented as ambiguous but if you listen closely, you hear specific Boston location references in the screenplay (taken from the book) and Scoot McNairy's accent is for sure a Beantown affectation. (KTS was shot on location in New Orleans and Coyle was made on location in Boston).

[@Frip36]

You can't say smart guys don't speak with their hands. This guy is smart and speaks like crazy with his hands. He doesn't think we know what "high up top" means so he stretches his arm as far as he can toward the ceiling.

[@heronblue3577]

very underrated film

[@mohammedomar4652]

this is a great great film.... the allegory is conspicuous - the lines are blurred - there's no romance or triumph....... it's gritty and the final words of teh film from Brad is bang on..... America is a business ...

[@spookon3s]

Wow....what a great interpretation of the film.

[@ehmazin]

Totally agree about Dominik's pacing... completely different film from The Assassination of Jesse James and still unfolds and concludes perfectly

[@badegg3210]

Yeah, Pitt acts well in this. It'd be crap without him, probably. See Moneyball? Great movie, largely thanks to Brad Pitt taking the right part with a great script. I love Brad Pitt. Underrated guy imo.

[@greenvelvet]

Amazing film. Stuck with me for a long time

[@theunusualsuspectstv]

Andrew Dominik is just a very good film maker with a very good out look on the world. If bleak.

[@ntube7]

Good reading of the film

[@adamjondo]

Great movie. Hugely underrated.

[@09hunterboy8]

Very enjoyable film, a lovely surprise!

[@freemason4979]

iT wasnt the banks that failed in 08. It was governm policy forcing the banks to lend to people who couldnt afford it (ninja loans). Then, when the loans predictably failed, the banks got the blame, and the politicians got more votes.

[@DanNic88]

The interpretation of a junky in this movie was expert acting

[@Batmanandthemonk1]

I liked this film. Didn't love it. Opening was incredible. Like seriously sick but after that everything felt very tame. A lot of style but very little impact.

[@0xidusnake]

I just finished seeing this, I thought it was decent but there was just way too much political rhetoric and the whole time it just felt like this film was bred to be an award winner to the point where it felt like it was forced just too many artsy shots too many awkward drawn out conversations. Good movie on the surface but not enough meat behind it in my opinion

[@Skullkan6]

Not really?

[@Frip36]

Why is he talking like an LP on 45

[@chrishiggins7166]

The film maybe unfocused & long, however the film’s well acted, well characterised, stylish & is A dark crime thriller. (67%) (3.5/5 stars) (positive)

[@TrueEnglishMan01]

All your reviews are virtually the same…

[@Torthrodhel]

The slow motion was completely obnoxious, I couldn't weather it and didn't make it through the film. Felt like an episode of CSI with how much they were expecting me to be endlessly impressed by tired visual gimmickry. I don't think I've ever actually enjoyed slow motion in film... can't think of a single instance I wouldn't have preferred a film without it. But in this it was actual work to sit through and between that and the drawn-out conversations where it felt like they fell asleep at the edit, I found it an utter chore. I do like character studies and especially of particularly pathetic people in gritty settings, that's a good well of potential. So's a film that takes its sweet time! And what's more, the world could use more assassin films that actually don't glorify that job as if it's some kind of acceptable everyday misunderstood profession or some shit. So all the ingredients were there for me to love this, it seems. Shame they made such a chewy meal of it, then.

[@Frip36]

You're more gabby than the movie was.

[@Torthrodhel]

@@Frip36 lmao, I am not going to disagree with that. At the same time, I'm not a movie.

[@spudreviewsmedia]

Thought the commentary was very on the nose, had poor cgi and the acting, pacing and writing was overall pretty low quality. Not really my film aside the unique cinematography and interesting sound editing.

[@sandworm9528]

Wrong. Not even a valid opinion, just wrong

[@spudreviewsmedia]

@@sandworm9528 alright bud

[@sandworm9528]

@@spudreviewsmedia for a guy named spud reviews media your review really sucks

[@spudreviewsmedia]

@@sandworm9528 called an opinion mate! Not all people have to have the same take kind of the point of a review! Gain some maturity bro

[@lxmoya11]

this interviewer is really daft

[@matthewwagner8640]

It bored the crap out of me.

[@griffinhamill761]

This movie sucked. Let me start off with what worked: It created a sense of verisimilitude, a very decayed crime bitten city. There was genuine tension, that made me uneasy during the heist. The characters were appropriately scuzzy. The rest of the movie was so pedestrian. Those boring, drawn out conversations. The stupid slow-motion violence. The tedious scene with the hooker. It was very talky.

[@autofocus4556]

Film is too on the nose.

[@johnnygonzales3267]

This movie is bad. Its making a loose crappy political commentary. They story has off stage things happening that should be onstage. Its just bad. However good acting.

[@MrMarkoera]

this movie is boring and bad!!

[@clonard]

A terribly bland, bleak, and rather boring movie. It ran for an hour and a half, but felt like three hours long.

[@Peroy1]

This is a terribly boring, empty movie that has nothing of relevance to say.

[@whiterabbit1632]

This is a sublime movie! I would like to see a remake of The Friends of Eddie Coyle as set in the same universe.

[@marcusanthony6646]

The bad lieutenant comparison is ignorant..subjective moronism.