Killing Them Softly - A Film Review

In my continued interest in crime thrillers, I watched Killing Them Softly on Netflix. It was directed by Andrew Dominik, who has a great track record with directing Chopper and The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. It is a movie about losers in organized crime, basically. Two burnout guys decide to rob a poker game that is run and played by mobsters. They pull it off, but their actions bring upon hit men that are hired to kill them, to "kill them softly." 

What is interesting about this movie is that it strips away the glamour of movies about organized crime, and just shows a lot of losers living on the outskirts of society, with no real job skills, and just being thugs for hire. They have meaningless jobs and existences, they have no real friends or family, and their lives are empty. It reminded me a little bit of Donnie Brasco, with the character of Benjamin "Lefty" Ruggiero (played by Al Pacino), as a low-level mob hit man whose personal life is a mess and has nothing worthwhile in his life after 30 years as a wiseguy killing people for hire. I saw that in the character of Mickey Fallon, played by James Gandolfini. He was a hitman who used to be quick and well-respected, but now is a loser with an addiction to alcohol and hookers, his ex-wife left him because of his repeated prison sentences, and he is a babbling dumbass. 

The acting was pretty good, from Scoot McNairy and Ben Mendolsohn as the burnout leads, to Ray Liotta as a dirtbag that runs the poker ring, to Gandolfini's wonderful performance as a delusional drunk in his few scenes. But Brad Pitt was a total scene-stealer as a hit man, and not because of his movie-star self. He really excels in being in dark movies and playing characters that have a gallows sense of humor or handle being amidst the unpleasant side of society. Sleepers, Se7en, Kalifornia, 12 Monkeys, Fight Club, and Spy Game all showcase that. I really like him in those roles, he seems to sit well in them and be in place. This isn't a great movie, but it's pretty decent to watch for an evening.