A movie about a couple of dumbasses who rob a local card game, for another dumbass. The guy who would normally sort this kind of thing out (played by Bill Pullman) is dying of a heart attack, or cancer or some shit, so Brad Pitt's character gets called in to sort things out.
I assume the movie takes place during the recession of 2008, because there are these constant sound bites from Dubya and Obama, going on about hope, or opportunity, or holding the ones responsible for the economic troubles accountable. Except, of course, for these guys, the only opportunities are stupid jobs like this, that are gonna end badly, or small time schemes like stealing people's dogs and taking them to Florida to sell. Everyone is scrambling for whatever money they can get, and we never see anyone higher up than a middle manager type. The ones making the actual decisions are somewhere hidden away, ordering people killed or beaten (but not too badly), or stiffing someone on their fee, entirely unaffected.
All of which could have been conveyed by the events of the film and one clip of Bush the Lesser or Obama feeding us a line of shit, rather than doing it over and over again. It definitely didn't need Brad Pitt's little speech about how Thomas Jefferson was a hypocritical piece of shit and the whole country is founded on rich guys fucking every one else. I mean, all that shit is true, but I already know that. I don't know if it means the director thought we were too stupid to get his point, or if he just felt really smart and wanted to do a flex.
The movie definitely didn't need James Gandolfini's hired killer character, who spends all his time drinking and crying bitterly over his ex-wife. The middle of the movie grinds to a screeching halt the moment he comes on screen, because whatever was going on up to that point is sidelined so he can monologue about stuff while Brad Pitt sits there looking vaguely constipated. I don't care about the character's problems. He's just some asshole who wandered into the middle of the story I was somewhat mildly interested.
2 comments:
I'm trying to think of examples of films where a random character turns up in the middle of a film and actually improves it before they move on, or if it's always a bad idea.
Maybe Billy Crystal in Princess Bride? Although he's probably my least favourite part of that film, so perhaps not.
Sergio Leone was pretty good at throwing random weirdos into his movies for like one scene, like the old man in For a Few Dollars More who's so hung up on trains. But parts of Leone's movies feel less like a story and more a bunch of loosely connected vignettes, so that may not be the best example.
But it really does not work for this movie.
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