Killing Them Softly
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | Killing Them Softly |
| Original title | Killing Them Softly |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 2012 |
| length | 97 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Andrew Dominik |
| script | Andrew Dominik |
| production |
Brad Pitt Dede Gardner Steve Schwartz Paula Mae Schwartz Anthony Katagas Megan Ellison |
| camera | Greig Fraser |
| cut | Brian A. Kates |
| occupation | |
| |
Killing Them Softly is an American crime film from the year 2012 , in which Andrew Dominik wrote the screenplay and directed. The film is based on the 1974 novel Cogan's Trade by George V. Higgins . On May 22, 2012, the film premiered at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival .
action
The film is set in late 2008 during the election campaign between Barack Obama and John McCain in run-down New Orleans. The previously convicted dry cleaning operator Johnny Amato is planning a robbery on a poker game in New Orleans . Its organizer, Markie Trattman, had already had his own poker round attacked once and later blurted it out while drunk. The mafia involved in the poker rounds did not believe him at the time and let him live. Amato insists that if there is another attack, Markie will be suspected.
Amato has the attack carried out by Frankie, who hires the drug addict Russell as an accomplice. To elucidate the mafia sets the assassin a Jackie Cogan as their own "investigators" who coordinates its actions with an anonymous contact man. Although Jackie is convinced that Trattman should serve as a pawn sacrifice, he has him beaten through two small doors. He later learns by chance that Russell was involved in the robbery and that Amato was behind the robbery. Russell is later arrested by police for drug possession. Since Trattman is in the "public perception of the Mafia" as another culprit, Jackie shoots him regardless of the question of guilt.
Jackie does not want to carry out the murder of Amato, whom he personally knows, and lets his older colleague Mickey fly in from New York . The now alcoholic and unpredictable Mickey, however, wastes a lot of time with prostitutes. Jackie ensures that Mickey is arrested for violating his probation requirements and takes the job into his own hands.
Jackie puts Frankie under pressure: either he leads him to Amato and is spared, or Jackie kills them both. Frankie reluctantly accepts the offer. After Jackie killed Amato, he also shoots Frankie on the return trip, contrary to the agreement. Jackie later reports execution to the contact person and demands his money. When he hears that the mafia has cut his fee significantly, he gets angry. Before the TV broadcast of the inaugural address of the newly elected President Barack Obama , Jackie tells the contact what he thinks of the American pathos. He points out to him that Thomas Jefferson , after he had written "all men are created equal", went home and had sex with his house slave. America is a business and nothing more. Then Jackie again emphatically demands his full fee, and the film fades out.
background
production
The film is an adaptation of George V. Higgins ' novel Cogan's Trade . The screenplay was written by Andrew Dominik , who also directed the film , but brought the background of the story to the present day.
“As I started adapting it, it was the story of an economic crisis, and it was an economic crisis in an economy that was funded by gambling - and the crisis occurred due to a failure in regulation. It just seemed to have something that you couldn't ignore. "
“When I started adapting the novel, it was the story of an economic crisis and it was the crisis in an economy that was funded by gambling - and the crisis came from a bug in the regulations. It just looked like I had something that I couldn't ignore. "
The film project was first announced in November 2010 when Brad Pitt was under discussion for the lead role. Pitt joined the project the following month, and production was scheduled to begin March 2011 in Louisiana . Further roles were filled in spring 2011. Zoë Saldaña , Mark Ruffalo , Sam Rockwell and Javier Bardem rejected the film project. Pitt appeared on the film project as a co-producer.
Production began in January 2011, and filming began on February 2, 2011 in March 2011. The film was shot in New Orleans .
Garret Dillahunt mentioned in an interview that the first cut of the film was about two and a half hours long.
Richard Jenkins is seen in all scenes, be it in the driver's seat of his car or in the final scene at the bar, always sitting.
Killing Them Softly is the first full-length film to use Kodak's 500T 5230 film . In the original English version, the dialogue scene in the laundry is almost verbatim from the beginning of the novel. Other passages of dialogue were also taken literally from the English-language novel. However, this could not be transferred to the German dubbed version. The film repeatedly refers to the political and economic situation in the USA. Excerpts from speeches by former President George W. Bush are shown in television clips . Election posters from the 2008 election campaign can be seen in the background. You can also see the protagonists walking through completely neglected streets.
publication
The film celebrated its world premiere on May 22, 2012 at the Cannes International Film Festival . The film opened in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Spain on September 21, 2012. In Germany, the film was shown in cinemas from November 29, 2012. The film opened in American cinemas one day later.
Financial success
The budget for the film was estimated at $ 18 million. On the opening weekend, the film grossed over $ 6.8 million in the United States. At the beginning of December 2012 he was rated as a flop with this box office result in the USA, especially since he only reached seventh place in the cinema charts. Reasons were seen in the political orientation of the film, which is unusually for US standards.
German dubbed version
The German dubbing was done at Scalamedia in Berlin . The dialogue book was written by Gerrit Schmidt-Foss , who also directed the dubbing .
| actor | German speaker | role |
|---|---|---|
| Brad Pitt | Tobias Master | Jackie Cogan |
| Scoot McNairy | Tommy Morgenstern | Frankie |
| Ben Mendelsohn | Thomas Petruo | Russell |
| James Gandolfini | Eberhard Haar | Mickey |
| Richard Jenkins | Bodo Wolf | driver |
| Vincent Curatola | Lutz Schnell | Johnny Amato |
| Ray Liotta | Udo Schenk | Markie Trattman |
| Trevor Long | Viktor Neumann | Steve Caprio |
| Max Casella | Olaf Reichmann | Barry Caprio |
| Sam Shepard | Detlef Bierstedt | Dillon |
| Slaine | Gerrit Schmidt-Foss | Kenny Gill |
| Barack Obama | Oliver Siebeck | Barack Obama |
| Mustafa Harris | Gerrit Schmidt-Foss | Bartender # 1 |
| Joe Chrest | Florian Halm | DEA agent # 1 |
| Kirk Jordan | Andreas Hosang | DEA agent # 2 |
| George W. Bush | Michael Pan | George W. Bush |
| Henry Paulson | Hans-Jürgen Dittberner | Henry Paulson |
| John McCain | Jan Spitzer | John McCain |
| Dared Wright | Stefan Staudinger | Waiter |
| Nancy Pelosi | Denise Gorzelanny | Nancy Pelosi |
| Peter DeFazio | Helmut Gauss | Peter DeFazio |
| Linara Washington | Vera Teltz | Prostitute LuLu |
Soundtrack
On September 18, 2012, Lakeshore Entertainment released the soundtrack for the film, which contains ten songs by various artists.
| No. | title | Interpreter |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Moon dance | Carl Stone |
| 2 | The Man Comes Around | Johnny Cash |
| 3 | Life Is Just a Bowl of Cherries | Jack Hylton & His Orchestra |
| 4th | heroin | The Velvet Underground |
| 5 | Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams | Nico |
| 6th | Love letters | Ketty Lester |
| 7th | I think this town is nervous | The wreckery |
| 8th | It's only a paper moon | Cliff "Ukulele Ike" Edwards |
| 9 | Money (That's What I Want) | Barrett Strong |
| 10 | The Feeling In My Nuts | Marc Streitenfeld |
reception
Killing Them Softly is a "brilliant, courageous film and far more than just a genre contribution," said Carsten Baumgardt of the film starts . With the “masterful gangster drama” , which comes in “the guise of a crook story” and “ paints a very cynical and gloomy picture of a country that so likes to be perceived as a radiant world hero” , Andrew Dominik is “a pessimistic comment on World situation in the era of late capitalism ” . Baumgardt awarded 4.5 out of 5 possible points.
Maximilian Kloes from Focus is of the opinion that the union of "gangster world, social criticism and gag fireworks [...] fails, but Brad Pitt knows how to save the film" . Director Andrew Dominik tries to “aestheticize violence” , at the same time the film wants to “be socially critical and funny” and “go beyond the gangster level and deconstruct American myths” . The dialogues fail to convey this. The characters are in need of improvement, "Russell is so annoying as an addicted idiot and Frankie is so pale as a normal" that "the level is depressed too much by the" lower "characters" . Because of the subplots, the film seems "too tense and unbalanced" .
Thomas Groh from the taz is of the opinion that the film is “not only very bloody, but also very cynical” and contains a lot of “criticism of capitalism” . The "pulp and hard-boiled literature soaked US indie thriller of the 90s" presented "cynical nihilism" . The "" profound "criticism of capitalism in cheap associations" are not convincing Groh.
Britta Schmeis from Stern shares the opinion that the film has a certain “cult potential” with its “mixture of gangster film and social criticism ” . The “dark gangster film with Quentin Tarantino impression” suggests “very cleverly” to the viewer, “the American dream is over” . In addition to the “bitter system criticism” , the film is essentially about “the classic Mafia business” . In the last third of the film, the plot is “hard to follow” due to the many protagonists with different intentions and clients . This ingenious mixture has its charm, even if it sometimes seems a little intentional. Among the actors, the acting performances of Brad Pitt, Scoot McNairy, Ben Mendelsohn, James Gandolfini, Richard Jenkins and Ray Liotta should be emphasized.
The "grim neo-noir drama" shows a US nation that "is economically and morally on the ground in the wake of the financial crisis," judged Tim Slagman from Spiegel . The film “is not gloomy, it is gray” , nevertheless - or precisely because of this - the images are “of expressive violence” .
The criminals of the American film represent a misrepresented embodiment of the American dream , says Jan Knoblauch from the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung . In Killing Them Softly, however, this is more “unglamorous” than rarely. The depictions of violence were staged in "bloody and realistic" scenes, "as they have not been shown on German screens for a long time" . James Gandolfini captivates with "brilliant portrayal of a contract killer in the personal recession" , which makes the film worth seeing in itself. The film "is not a self- deprecating pulp epic à la Tarantino , even if the somewhat over-engaged depiction of a head shot in slow motion in front of the sound of Ketty Lester's " Love Letters "suggests that" , but "the genre-typical coolness is missing" . The “real slaughter” that follows the “tragic comedy of shabby criminal caricatures” is able to give the film its effect.
According to Wenke Husmann von der Zeit , Andrew Dominik succeeded with the “deep black gangster story” , a “parable of American society” that was “brutal, pessimistic and, at worst, true” . The film reveals "what, in their opinion, those responsible in the American economy and those in power are currently doing to their compatriots: kill them very gently" . At the same time, the film is "unusually political" by US standards , so political that it was only released in cinemas weeks after Barack Obama's successful election for a second term. "The attraction of the plot" lies in the fact that the plot of the novel was postponed to 2008. Greig Fraser creates “moments of poetic beauty” with his camera work . Money as the "elixir of life" plays the pivotal point that creates the incentive for all characters to do their deeds, the crooks, the invisible clients, even the poker players. The conclusion of the film should also be understood in this context: "America is not a country" , sums up Cogan, "America is business".
According to Tobias Kniebe from the Süddeutsche Zeitung , the film is a "gangster play" that takes place in the "Wasteland of New Orleans" , in which Andrew Dominik does a "loyal literary filmmaker" . “Talking is the real passion” of the film alongside portraying death as a business. These “gangster dialogues from the Tarantino school” make the film what it is. James Gandolfini in particular, but also Ben Mendelsohn, are absorbed in their dialogues, “which tend to monologue” , appear “surprisingly fresh” and represent “cabinet pieces of wonderful greasiness” .
Awards
Andrew Dominik was nominated for a Golden Palm in 2012 . That same year, Scoot McNairy was recognized at the Hamptons International Film Festival in the Breakthrough Performer category.
Web links
- Killing Them Softly in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Killing Them Softly at Rotten Tomatoes (English)
- Killing Them Softly at Metacritic (English)
- Review (German) of Killing Them Softly on White Lightnin 'film blog by Tim Lindemann
Individual evidence
- ^ Killing Them Softly on the British Board of Film Classification
- ↑ Release certificate for Killing Them Softly . Voluntary self-regulation of the film industry , October 2012 (PDF; test number: 135 124 K).
- ↑ 2012 Official Selection . In: Cannes Film Festival . Retrieved April 19, 2012.
- ↑ Benjamin Wright: Cannes: 'Killing Them Softly' Helmer Andrew Dominik Talks Music As Film: 'Jesse James' Was My Leonard Cohen Song, 'Killing Them Softly' Is A Pop Tune . In: The Playlist . May 23, 2012. Archived from the original on January 12, 2013. Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved October 23, 2012.
- ↑ Dave McNary: Brad Pitt in talks for 'Cogan's Trade' . In: Variety . November 2, 2010.
- ↑ Dave McNary: Brad Pitt to star in 'Cogan's Trade' . December 30, 2010. Archived from the original on January 9, 2011. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved September 24, 2013.
- ↑ Dave McNary: Sam Rockwell circles 'Cogan's Trade' . January 5, 2011. Retrieved September 24, 2013.
- ↑ Jeff Sneider: Richard Jenkins joins Pitt's rigid 'Cogan's Trade' . February 8, 2011. Retrieved September 24, 2013.
- ↑ Jeff Sneider: McNairy, Mendelsohn to star in 'Cogan's Trade' . February 16, 2011. Retrieved September 24, 2013.
- ↑ a b c Internet Movie Database : Background information
- ↑ a b c d Rheinische Post : Crime drama: Brad Pitt's “Killing Them Softly” flops , New York, December 3, 2012
- ^ Mike Scott: Brad Pitt to return to New Orleans for thriller 'Cogan's Trade' . In: The Times-Picayune , January 3, 2011. Retrieved September 24, 2013.
- ↑ Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie and family hit the French Quarter streets . In: The Times-Picayune , March 21, 2011. Retrieved September 24, 2013.
- ↑ a b c Internet Movie Database : Budget and Box Office Results
- ↑ Internet Movie Database : Filming Locations
- ↑ Kevin Jagernauth: Garret Dillahunt Says First Cut Of 'Killing Them Softly' Was 2.5 Hours, Not Sure If He Made The Final Edit . In: The Playlist . April 15, 2012. Archived from the original on June 29, 2012. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved October 23, 2012.
- ↑ a b film starts : film review , Carsten Baumgardt
- ^ A b c Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung : In the cinema: “Killing them Softly”: The fear of the pleading victim , Jan Knoblauch, November 28, 2012
- ^ A b Süddeutsche Zeitung : "Killing Them Softly" in the cinema: America is not a country , Tobias Kniebe, November 28, 2012
- ↑ a b c d Internet Movie Database : Start Dates
- ↑ a b Zeit : Film "Killing them softly": Here people die very gently , Wenke Husmann, November 27, 2012
- ↑ a b c Killing Them Softly. In: synchronkartei.de. German synchronous index , accessed on December 14, 2012 .
- ↑ Focus : Film review: “Killing Them Softly” - The big coup with a dishwashing glove , Maximilian Kloes, November 29, 2012
- ↑ taz : Film “Killing Them Softly” - Bad teeth are the least , Thomas Groh, November 28, 2012
- ↑ Stern : "Killing Them Softly" with Brad Pitt: Cool killers and deep crises , dpa , Britta Schmeis, November 29, 2012
- ^ Spiegel : Brad Pitt in "Killing Them Softly": All That Begging, Screeching, Groaning , Tim Slagman, November 2, 2012
- ↑ a b Internet Movie Database : Nominations and Awards
