Killing Them Softly
Directed by Andrew Dominik
Written by Andrew Dominik
Starring: Brad Pitt, Richard Jenkins, James Gandolfini, Ray Liotta
The Weinstein Company
Rated R | 97 Minutes
Release Date: November 30, 2012
Written and directed by Andrew Dominik (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford), Killing Them Softly is an adaptation of George V. Higgins‘ 1974 crime novel, Cogan’s Trade.
When South Boston low-lifes Frankie (Scoot McNairy) and Russell (Ben Mendelsohn) break into an illegal card game and steal the cash, they attract the attention of contract killer Jackie Cogan (Brad Pitt).
The underground poker circuit is run by low-level mobster Markie Trattman (Ray Liotta), who becomes an immediate suspect because he robbed his own card game a few years back. The two thugs assume the blame will fall on Trattman, leaving them free from mob retaliation. As you might imagine, they assume wrong.
The South Boston mob sends a representative (Richard Jenkins) to sit down with Cogan to work out the details of Frankie and Russell’s demise, and what to do with Markie – who is living on borrowed time after his previous stunt.
Killing Them Softly is set in the months leading up to the 2008 Presidential election, where writer/director Andrew Dominik repeatedly hits us over the head with comparisons between a financial crisis, a corrupt political system, and the violent circumstances of Higgins’ crime-drama.
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