Killing Them Softly

Killing Them Softly is anything but soft and subtle.

Directed by Andrew Dominik, Killing Them Softly is based on the book Cogan's Trade (which I haven't read). Brad Pitt plays Jackie Cogan, a mob enforcer brought in by Driver (Richard Jenkins). Driver explains that an illegal card game run by Markie (Ray Liotta) has been robbed by two men.

The two men are revealed to be Frankie and Russell, (Scoot McNairy and Ben Mendelsohn) who are hired by local business owner Johnny Amato (Vincent Curatola). Johnny explains that Markie had earlier staged a robbery at his own card game and made off with the money himself. Later, while drunk, Markie bragged to his mob associates that he staged the robbery. Johnny's plan is to rob Markie's card game again, as Markie had already bragged about robbing the card game before, the mob will assume it is Markie again and kill him. Once Markie has been taken care of, Johnny, Frankie and Russell will be in the clear with the money from the card game.

As such, with this type of plot, things don't go exactly as planned. Heroin-addicted Russell, begins to brag about the robbery and this information makes its way back to Jackie. Jackie realizes that Markie is innocent and quickly deduces who is responsible for the robbery. As Jackie knows Johnny, he brings in New York hitman Mickey (James Gandolfini) to assist with the hits required for this job. Mickey is going through a messy divorce and a huge alcohol problem, which complicates matters with Jackie.

If anyone saw The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, directed by Andrew Dominik, then you should know what to expect from this film. Andrew Dominik, in some ways, resembles Terence Malick. Scenes in Killing Them Softly seem to serve no purpose and ramble on involving dialogue or shots that do not pertain to the film at all. At times, this film is very frustrating with hip "naturalistic"-sounding dialogue that doesn't move the film at all. Other times, this is a solid dark comedy/crime drama that works so well.

Speaking of things that don't work well, James Gandolfini's Mickey serves no purpose in the film at all. He is brought in by Jackie to do a hit, but instead drinks the whole time and spouts off on topics about his divorce, potential criminal charges and sex. Nothing involving the Mickey character works, and the character should have been edited from the film. Along with Mickey, the character of Russell was annoying to sit with during any of his screen time. As he is a heroin addict, all time spent with him is an annoying, rambling and incoherent mess. I understand that is probably what spending time with someone like that is, but that doesn't mean I have to enjoy it. Russell's scene where he informs Frankie that he spoke about the robbery came off as so annoying and done in an over-the-top artistic way by Andrew Dominik that I couldn't wait for that scene to be over.

Brad Pitt, on the other hand, delivers a really good performance as a man who has a job to do and that's it. He isn't here to make small talk and take in the scenery. He has been hired to do a job and he will do it. Rounding out the cast are an entertaining performance by Richard Jenkins who acts as a spokesman for the mafia and Liotta's Markie who suffers through one beating after another. Oh, and Sam Shepard shows up as well. His role is about as brief as the line I just wrote to describe it. I assume he had a bigger role in the reported two and a half hour first cut version of this film.

And what would a review about this film be without touching on the over the top mentioning of the economy? I know what Andrew Dominik was going for, and it ties in well to the film, but when every character is either listening to the news or watching the news or talking about the news, it gets tiresome. This wasn't being hit over the head, this was being hobbled by mentioning how bad the economy is. Sprinkle the film with it... not be a glutton and blanket the film with it.

As a crime drama, this is a hard-hitting and solid film. If you know it is directed by Andrew Dominik beforehand, that will help as this film tends to take the long, winding road to get to its point instead of following the straight road. Rooted by good performances, and some beautiful cinematography and a biting cynicism to it, this is a solid recommendation.

6.8/10

The List: Top 5 Martin Scorcese Films

As it is another slow weekend at the box office, I have decided to not hit the cinema, but instead compile another film list. Like always, this list is my opinion. As opinions differ, please feel free to add your own favorites or comments below.

So let's get to my personal top 5 films of Martin Scorcese.



5. Raging Bull

This one might draw some fire for being fifth on my list. To be honest, Raging Bull should not be on my list at all. I personally am not a fan of Raging Bull. The film tells the story of embittered boxer Jake LaMotta and his turbulent life in and out of the boxing ring.

The reason I say that Raging Bull should not be on my list is because I personally do not enjoy the film. I feel that Raging Bull has an extremely unlikable main character and tries to make you want to follow along with him on his journey in life. As I do not enjoy Jake LaMotta, I did not enjoy the journey that the script provided.

The reason that I put this film on my list, though, is the amazing performance by Robert De Niro and the great directing by Martin Scorcese. Robert De Niro truly earned his Oscar for this film, not even by shedding the 60 some-odd pounds for the role, but he dived head first and immersed himself into the world of Jake LaMotta. His performance as a tough loser is remarkable and a highlight in this film.

Besides Robert De Niro, the real reason for this film being as good as it is lies squarely with Martin Scorcese. Martin infuses life and style into what is a really depressing story. Shooting the film in black and white to the amazing boxing scenes, this is an amazing film in Martin Scorcese's resume. It has all the feel of a classic Scorcese film, (which it is) but the style shines through what is a very dark film.

4. Bringing Out the Dead

Martin Scorcese and writer Paul Schrader return to the grungy, dirty days of New York City made famous by them in Taxi Driver (see #2). Nicolas Cage stars as Frank Pierce, a New York City paramedic who is burnt out. He wants to quit his job, but finds himself stuck working over a weekend that will change everything.

This is a forgotten Scorcese gem. Bringing Out the Dead provides the dark, Taxi Driver-esque New York City with some comedic elements that can be traced to After Hours. Bringing Out the Dead takes place over 3 days, and teams Frank up with a variety of quirky paramedics (Ving Rhames, John Goodman, Tom Sizemore). During this time, Frank also finds solstice and comfort with the daughter of a heart attack victim (Patricia Arquette).

This film was entirely forgotten when initially released, which is a shame. Nicolas Cage provides, for the most part, a quiet, nuanced performance while being surrounded by urgent and crazy people and situations. This is not Martin Scorcese's best film, but provides everything you want in a classic Scorcese film. And when ranking Scorcese films, this should always be a high consideration.


3. The Departed

The film that finally provided Martin Scorcese with that elusive Oscar for Best Director along with Best Picture. The Departed is a crime drama about 2 Boston police officers; one who is an honest undercover (Leonardo DiCaprio) within the mob and the other, a corrupt cop (Matt Damon) working with the mob. Both police officers work closely with the Boston crime boss (Jack Nicholson).

Martin Scorcese returns to the crime genre, which he knows so well, and provides us exactly what you would expect from him. The film is filled with Scorcese archetypes: freeze-frames, jumps in time, Rolling Stones songs, etc. I really enjoy The Departed overall, but it does feel like a step down from Goodfellas. If Goodfellas had never been made, I think The Departed would be talked up almost as high as Goodfellas is today.

Unfortunately, I feel The Departed will forever be linked as a "gimmie" to Martin Scorcese as he should have obviously won at least one Oscar prior to this film. As it is, The Departed is a well made crime film with obvious Scorcese touches and anchored by the strong performances of Leonardo DiCaprio and Mark Wahlberg.


2. Taxi Driver

Martin Scorcese and Robert De Niro take us to a darker version of New York City in Taxi Driver. Possibly Martin Scorcese's most renowned film, it tells the story of Travis Bickle, an unhinged taxi driver who becomes disillusioned with the city and its persons. After meeting an underage prostitute, Iris, (Jodie Foster) Travis takes it upon himself to try and help the girl escape her current life and her pimp (Harvey Keitel).

With recurring collaborator, writer Paul Schrader, Martin Scorcese places us into the darkest part of New York City: the 1970's. Full of drug dealers, pimps and lowlifes, we are exposed to every element that Travis experiences. We feel the environment and sometimes can even agree with how he feels. Though after a chance meeting with Iris, his mission in life becomes a psychotic version of saving Iris' life.

Robert De Niro shows us a transformation of a man sick with the life he is in all the way to a psychotic man who is willing to do anything to save a life. Along with the infamous, "You talkin' to me..." sequence, this film is filled with darkness and we are unfortunate enough to ride along with such an unhinged main character.


1. Goodfellas

Martin Scorcese's dark, violent and often funny tale of a lifetime in the mob. We follow Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) from childhood through his downfall in the Italian mafia. Along the way, he works for Paul Cicero (Paul Sorvino) and makes friends with Jimmy Conway (Robert De Niro) and Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci).

Based on the true story of the late Henry Hill, Martin Scorcese uses all the tricks he has learned through the years and uses them in this film. The usual freeze frames along with time jumps and more Rolling Stones songs lets you know your are in Martin Scorcese's world. We follow Henry, in this almost 3 hour film, from a curious teenager to a drug-addled gangster all the way through mob informant and the film never bogs down. This is a testament to screenwriter Nicholas Pileggi, along with Scorcese, who zip us through this world at a breakneck pace yet completely immersing us within this world.

Goodfellas is a culmination of all the best Scorcese traits. He continues to use his good luck charm, Robert DeNiro and also stays within the genre that he is best known for: the crime drama. This is a close to perfection film and, as Roger Ebert has said, is "the best mob movie ever".


I know people will wonder where Hugo, or The Last Temptation of Christ or Mean Streets might be. As stated, this is my preference and I certainly do like a lot more of Martin Scorcese's films. When it comes down to it, though, these 5 films are the films I identify with Martin Scorcese and feel are his best works.