you are on your own

What is tenderness? After watching the film, this question lingers in my mind. If I don’t figure it out, I won’t be able to understand the deep concern hidden in this cold movie with dark tones, long lines, and a protracted plot. This is a very different kind of gangster movie, and it is also the best movie I have seen in 2012. It is very experimental, but full of sincerity. In addition to Brad Pitt, many supporting roles come from my favorite American drama "The Sopranos" cast (for example, the decadent talk killer Micky from New York is played by "The Sopranos" starring Mus Gandolfini). The occasional American election speeches and the background of the financial crisis show the director’s ambition. As mentioned earlier, this is an experimental film. The director deliberately makes the background of the film overlap with the background of reality, but deliberately makes The two are quite distinct. Different from ordinary realist movies, this overlap and split weaken the effect of reality criticism, but adds a bit of black humor to the film, or in other words, it is also a kind of tenderness.
Killing Them Softly has two meanings, one meaning is that the financial crisis is slowly killing Americans. One meaning is the gentle killing of Jackie, the killer played by Pete. The two meanings are in sharp contrast. The former killing surface is gentle and inner cold, while the latter killing surface is cold and inner gentle. And what people expect is the superficial tenderness, so people often lose their dignity, begging for mercy, hoping to live on and live. It is because of human nature that power can prevail. The middleman who has been talking to Pete in the film is a representative of hypocrisy. When dealing with the casino owner Martie, "they" know that they will kill him in the end, but they still have to be enough to beat the poor Martie first. This is the naked hypocrisy of the power, and the power must witness the process of Martie's dignity being trampled on instead of directly killing him, which is a more efficient method. Therefore, the two scenes of beating Martie and Pete killing Martie are in sharp contrast. The first scene is dirty and bloody and extremely violent, while the latter scene is extremely gentle. The killer played by Pete is an executioner, but he wants to maintain the dignity of the slain. The plea for being killed will make him feel sick. This is the real gentleness!
The reality is cruel, but people can be gentle. The American dream is illusory, but the Americans are real. As Peter said at the end of the film: "Amercia is never a country, is a business." Power cannot be relied upon, "you are on your own".

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