All I knew
going into this movie was that it was written and directed by Andrew Dominick,
who made the ferociously underrated The
Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Yes I had to write
the full title. However, I was not certain what this film was, other then some
kind of crime film starring Brad Pitt, but I have to say I was surprised as it
was nothing like Jesse James. This is pretty radically different from Jesse
James. The story is about two pretty crappy criminals who decide to rob a
mob-protected poker game. Jackie Coogan is hired by the mob to find the people.
The film takes place during the 2008 election, which is pretty central for the
film. The film is essentially more of a comment on capitalism then a mobster
movie. At a point in almost every scene, we get excerpts from speeches given
from Obama or Bush or McCaine during the election, and it help us understand
the social critique of the scene.
The film
has a great cast, which it jumps back and forth with in an almost Pulp Fiction
style. In the marketing they present Brad Pitt as the lead, but the really
isn’t a lead role in this film, however there are some great performances. Brad
Pitt is of course great, but the standout performance is from Australian Ben
Mendelsohn (known for is Oscar-snubbed role in Animal Kingdom and more recently
from The Dark Knight Rises). He plays junkie, who lives of stealing dogs,
trying to earn enough money to eventually become a drug dealer. He is such an
absurd character, but it´s the scenes with him that are the absolute best and
he shows that he has got great comedic chops. Scott McNairy was also pretty
good as his partner in the robbery I mentioned earlier. I also thought James
Gandolfini did a great job, however his arrival did kind of cripple the film. While
all his scenes were important pieces of the story and served their purpose,
they cut have been cut short as they all of a sudden slowed the film down
significantly and did feel a bit boring.
Boring; a
word I can see a lot of people will use to describe this, because it really
isn’t what you might think it is. This is not an action film, it is a talking
film, and probably 90% or so of the film consists of people sitting in a car or
somewhere else and just talking. If you come in expecting a crime thriller,
there is a good chance you will end up being disappointed. The film is very
comedic, very artsy, very talky and more a satire then a mobster film. That
doesn’t mean it is not enjoyable, just know what you are getting into.
Now there
were a few scenes that made me raise my eyebrows. Firstly a beating scene,
which has to be one of the most unpleasant, beating scenes I have seen. That
being said it was very effective, up to a point. It just kept going on far to
long, to the point where it seemed to loose its purpose. Secondly a scene,
which I won’t hold against it, but scene, which looked like it, was taken
straight of this years Dredd. It was a heavily stylized scene of someone
getting shot in slow motion and it was impossible not to think of Dredd, but
they were in production around the same time so it isn´t the film´s fault.
For some
reason the film felt to me like a crossover between the Coen Brother and
Tarantino, and I think fans of either of those will find something to enjoy
here. If you want something slightly artsy or a dark satirical comedy this is
also probably down your ally, or of you just want a film critiquing Capitalism,
then I recommend you check this film out.
3.5/5
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