The last time star Brad Pitt and writer/director Andrew
Dominik teamed up was for “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward
Robert Ford”. That film is a long, slow burn; drifting in and out of scenes,
dream like at times. Despite the gradual, deliberate pace, there is a force
behind the narrative. Their latest endeavor, “Killing Them Softly”, an
adaptation of George V. Higgins’ novel “Cogan’s Trade”, aims for the same goal.
This time, however, they miss the mark, and instead of a steady, measured tempo,
the film sags and meanders. It goes nowhere, and in the end, even though the
story reaches the only logical conclusion, it peters out and leaves you empty.
