Killing Them Softly
In the interests of balanced viewpoints....
This film had a terrific cast, but it really wasn't very good. The slim story isn't enough to fill the relatively sparse running time, and there are far too many hugely talky sections which seem to be there just to give the actors a chance to act. In particular, James Gandolfini's character is absolutely unnecessary and occupies two lengthy dialogue sessions. Gandolfini is very good, the character is deeply unpleasant, and that part of the film leads nowhere.
But there are also other areas where far too much time is taken to achieve not very much - the dialogue between Frankie and Russell where Russell is descending slowly - very slowly - into a narcotic haze, for instance.
I would not have minded so much if there had been some pace, some excitement, or even something attractive to look at. But this is a slow, tedious, drab film with no sympathetic characters and an over-exaggerated idea of its own significance. The political commentary might have meant something if you are American: I'm not, so it just wasted more time. And I would have quite liked an ending. Never mind, maybe next time.
