KILLING THEM SOFTLY

Killing Them Softly is a film that benefits from multiple viewings. I've only just watched it for the first time and it didn't strike any immediate chords with me but upon a brief reflection there are a lot of things to think about. There is no question that every performer in this film acts their guts out. Richard Jenkins, James Ganolfini and Ben Mendelsohn are all fantastic and of course Brad Pitt is rock solid as always. I didn't connect with the story, though, and I attribute that to the cinematography. I got the impression they were trying to be clever with various slow motion shots and an assortment of experimental angles but it came off a bit wanky for my liking and the story would have resonated more with a more straight forward approach. Having said that, the story is simple for the genre and not hard to follow. Its about two thugs who rob an underground poker ring and find themselves with a contract on their heads. It feels like Scorsese meets Tarantino with a hint of Guy Ritchie thrown in for luck. I think it was too heavy on the QT side and should have leaned in favour of Scorsese. Throughout the entire film is a constant stream of political speeches from Bush and Obama... I guess this provides a running theme of empty promises and a social commentary on the state of America, but it's distracting and unnecessary. So I loved the performances and enjoyed the story but really didn't take to it's delivery... as I said at the beginning, Its going to need repeat viewings because i suspect it will grow on me. I'll be keen to hear more thoughts...

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