Killing Them Softly, written and directed by Wellington-born, Melbourne-raised Andrew Dominik, explores the issues within America's capitalist society during the 2008 presidential elections. Jackie Cogan (Brad Pitt) is called in to investigate and 'clean-up' after a heist of a mobster's poker night.
The script is wonderfully written, especially Pitt's daring last few lines which would surely offend many patriotic Americans fixated on the fantasy of the 'American dream'. Pitt plays his role impeccably, portraying Cogan as an assassin who dislikes "embarrassing" jobs where victims beg and plead for their lives, wet themselves, and lose their dignity. Cogan prefers to kill them from a distance, avoiding emotion tampering with his conscience.
Australian actor, Ben Mendelsohn (Animal Kingdom; The Dark Knight Rises) plays junkie, Russell, one of the characters partaking in the heist. Mendelsohn perfectly illustrates the sweaty, seedy character tripping after shooting up, as he is disorientated, slipping in and out of focus. The acting is beautifully accompanied with experimental audio and visuals altering focus, creating an enthralling sequence rife with emotions associated with drug use, poverty, capitalism and crime.
As mentioned, the film has elements of avant-garde, experimentalist tendencies to it, primarily through the use of audio. The opening sequence exemplifies this immediately, and the audience know this will be no ordinary film. The sound mixing throughout the whole film is astounding, using different levels to highlight certain sounds, such as glass breaking or blood splattering, to play with the audience's emotions. Many of the sounds give an uncomfortable feeling, adding to the overall discomfort of the themes and topics of the film.
The cinematography is no less impressive than the sound, using appropriate focus pulls and camera angles to highlight characters' traits and action taking place. Ray Liotta's character, Markie Trattman, endures brutal physical violence in which cinematographer, Greig Fraser, pulls and racks focus illustrating the confusion and pain suffered. Some people will find the film too violent or too realistic, but all the violence had it's own place within the film and was relevant for the storyline.
The one downside I experienced in the film was in the long-winded conversations between Cogan and his old friend and hit man, Mickey (James Gandolfini), in which Mickey would talk relentlessly and crudely about women. These conversations were needed for Mickey's character development, but I thought they could have been more succinct to keep the pacing of the film running smoothly, rather than slowing to an almost boring pace.
Besides all the technical elements, the actual substance of the film was interesting to view. The highly politically-charged time setting was the perfect backdrop for Dominik to extend his views on capitalism, the real America, and the America everyone wants to see. The frequent television broadcasts or radio announcements heard throughout the film were perhaps overkilled, however during this time in the United States it would have been difficult to escape the presidential campaign, and thus it is conveyed within Killing Them Softly.
An interesting point to the film was the use of only male actors, apart from one female role of a prostitute, who has a verbal altercation with Mickey and Cogan, showing her (and them) in an unflattering way. This may been seen as misogynistic by Dominik and his casting directors, however, his point would have been to illustrate the truth that a capitalist society is a man's world, it has been, and it will continue that way.
Overall, the film was one of the few masterpieces of today and should no doubt be on every body's lips during award season. Kirk Francis' sound mixing was beyond imperative to the film and stunning to listen to. The vast majority of the acting was top notch, Oscar-nomination worthy, and the cinematography, despite the often uncomfortable themes, was a pleasure to watch. Any lover of film should go out to see Killing Them Softly just to appreciate the fine craftsmanship and direction of Dominik as it provides much food for thought and inspiration.
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