One of the picks on our Mad As Hell Movies of 2012 list from earlier this year was Andrew Dominik’s Cogan’s Trade. That title was later changed to the more flashy Killing Them Softly. Based on a 1974 novel by George Higgins, the story focuses on a pointman for the mob named Jackie Cogan (Brad Pitt) and his investigation into a robbery of a poker game by a pair of low life thugs. While it is a hard edged crime film on the surface, there is also a commentary on the economic and political issues going on within since it’s set around the time of the 2008 U.S. elections. Of course that is all going to be secondary to the entertainment factor.
After the recent tragedies in Colorado, The Weinstein Company (who will be distributing the film in the USA) made a case to begin discussing violence in cinema. There’s no doubt this will be one of their more violent releases in 2012. Furious Cinema completely supports dialogue on these important issues but we also think that censorship in art is not the answer to the violence in our society. (See: Gun Control)
Andrew Dominik and Brad Pitt previously worked together on the somber character study/western The Assassination of James James by The Coward Robert Ford. It will be interesting to see where they go on this project! Co-starring Ray Liotta, James Gandolfini, Richard Jenkins, Scoot McNairy and Ben Mendelsohn.
Killing Them Softly will be released in US theaters October 19, 2012
