Killing Them Softly

Brad Pitt stars as Jackie, a shady type brought in to clean up a mess after an organized crime card game is robbed. His solution is to kill some people and get the game back on track, and he does it in a way that’s both scary and fascinating to watch. Directed by Andrew Dominik, who also directed Pitt in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, this is a good-looking movie that takes it sweet time. It’s also ultra violent, with Ray Liotta enduring a screen beating unlike anything you’ve seen before. James Gandolfini shows up as a grouchy hitman who’s similar to a washed-up Tony Soprano after the wife and kids have left. Pitt is just a bona fide movie star here, commanding all of his screen moments with seemingly effortless authority. It’s a great movie to look at, but it isn’t for everybody.