The other night, I went to a cheap theater with a couple friends, and we saw a film from November entitled “Killing Them Softly.” Starring Brad Pitt, James Gandolfini, Richard Jenkins, and Ray Liotta, this film is about a trio of amateur thugs who rob an underground, high-stakes poker game in New Orleans. As a result, the crime economy collapses and hit men (Pitt & Gandolfini) are called in to enforce the consequences.
This film says some interesting things about human purpose, and also features obvious political subtext about America. In numerous scenes, either a car radio or television screen is playing presidential debates between George Bush and Barack Obama wherein they comment on the nation’s current financial condition in a way that follows the film’s plot and provides seamless segues between scenes. According to director Andrew Dominik, human purpose is chiefly concerned with the acquisition of money, with women on the side. This film did not reveal any slice of Heaven, or “kingdom vision” to me at all.
One could make the argument that evil actually stems not from organized crime in general, but more specifically from the degenerate wanna-be organized criminals that forget their place in the food-chain, so to speak. And when all is said and done, not one character realizes redemption—yeah, it’s one of those cynical movies where everyone dies or gets picked up by police officers. In the end two guys are left, Pitt and Jenkins, and one conflict is left unresolved: the question of money. Pitt’s character (Jackie Cogan) meets Jenkins’ (The Driver) in a bar to collect payment for his recent “house-cleaning,” but the two can’t agree on a price. From a TV, Obama speaks about reclaiming the American dream and realizing that “out of many, we are one,” to which Cogan replies, “This guy wants to tell me we’re living in a community? Don’t make me laugh. I’m living in America, and in America you’re on your own. America’s not a country. It’s just a business. Now f***ing pay me.” Cogan seeks his redemption in a paycheck.
The implication in this film is that life in the empire is a dog-eat-dog world of violence, money and drugs. “Killing Them Softly” is a film that numbs our perception of the kingdom vision, and tells us that this broken world is all we have.
1. What does “Killing Them Softly” encourage the viewer to desire, or believe in?
2. Does this film provide an accurate sketch of America’s society and politics?
Hmm ... a quick look on Rotten Tomatoes includes this synopsis: "Killing Them Softly is a darkly comic, visceral thriller that doubles as a cautionary tale on capitalism, whose message is delivered with sledgehammer force." Could it be that this film was using the world of the criminal underworld to comment on the predatory nature of global capitalism? Even the quote you use about America being a business begs the audience to consider the question of whether or not that's the vision of America they want to live in. Again, it helps to ask why this film was made to start getting to what the writer/director is hoping to say through telling this story in this way.
ReplyDeleteI've seen it twice, now, and both times I had a feeling it was a commentary about America as a whole. The second time especially, I noticed how the political dialogue affected the progress of the plot. You're probably right about the intentions of the director. I guess I didn't know enough about global capitalism to realize it at the time.
DeleteBefore I read your overview of the film, I had no interest in seeing it whatsoever. Now, though, it looks like I'm going to have to give it a look. It seems like the director is doing some interesting things in a genre that can often be far too formulaic.
DeleteYeah, I know what you mean! Just another crime drama, right? It has the grit of Goodfellas but it's also a very smart film.
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