Kurt Loder on Killing Them Softly

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The concept of organized crime as a dark mirror image of American capitalism was firmly established in The Godfather 40 years ago. But as Kurt Loder observes, it seems to be a hot new idea for writer-director Andrew Dominik, who beats it to death throughout his new movie, Killing Them Softly. The picture is a talky noir set in the meltdown year of 2008 starring Brad Pitt, Ray Liotta, and James Gandolfini. It's littered with Obama campaign sound bites and radio bank-bailout reports, and the thudding political allegory keeps poking you in the face while you're trying to keep track of the story.