Cast: Brad Pitt rather loves playing a self-righteous hit man. He's not as front and center in the movie as the previews might make you expect. He doesn't even demand attention in the scenes he's in, except at the end. I've never heard of Scoot Mcnairy or Ben Mendelson before. They were effective at their skeevy roles. That's all I can really say about them. Ray Liotta doesn't look so good in this, but his character is meant to be pretty pathetic so we'll call that good acting. James Gandolfini is probably the one who impressed me the most, even if "washed up hitman"is a well-traveled character type. Lastly, Richard Jenkins is a nebbish crony for the mob. Sort of a Bob Newhart with more malice.
Plot: This is actually a pretty small movie: a couple small time crooks get their comeupance for a crime. To fill in the rest of the time, the movie really lets a lot of scenes breath. Especially Gandolfini is given a couple scenes to meander a speech, and I'll admit, I completely zoned out during one of them. A couple of scenes even strike me as the director wanting to try a cool new trick he learned on the camera or in editing. It definitely has the feel of an indie movie.
Elephant in the Room: Apparently there's a political angle to it? No really, but soft of. It's set sometime in '08 and uses a bunch of clips from the election and clips about the economic collapse. Perhaps it's me, but these clips often feel forced in. I think the end sort of gives them all context, but it still felt a little unnecessary.
To Sum Things Up:
I'm having that feeling again. You know, the one where I feel like I'm missing something. I think I liked it well enough but the whole thing felt pretty unremarkable. I don't know what the point was, or maybe I get it and don't think it was enough to justify a movie. I'm not sure. Part of me wishes I hadn't seen it alone if only so I had someone to bounce my first impression off. Perhaps I'll see it again on DVD and it will make more sense then.
Verdict (?): Weakly Don't Recommend
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