1. Killing Them Softly
Much like the Fight Club scene, this just would not stop. Unlike the Fight Club scene, it was so singularly unpleasant that it made you reassess violence in movies in general. It was something of a paradigm shift in violence an average cinema-goer would view violent scenes as ten-a-penny in films before this, viewing them as a necessary part of a films entertainment. Once you watched it, you couldnt go back. Lets set the scene. Killing Them Softly began with two low-level hoods turning over a shady poker game, knowing theyve got a concrete alibi because it can be easily pinned on the game runner who robbed his own game once before. Said runner, played by Ray Liotta, is begrudgingly blamed, even though those in the know realise he didnt do it. Nonetheless, he receives the beating of a lifetime, and by god its grim. Theres no music, no overwrought drama, just two men beating down a crying man whos pleading for mercy. Every single punch looks like its real, every kick and everything in-between. Its incredibly hard to watch because it doesnt wallow in any Hollywood tropes about one-punch knockouts and people taking punches and shrugging him off Liottas Markie is weeping throughout, bleeds profusely and is eventually left in a bedraggled heap on the pavement. Its awful, and gives two fingers two an audience who were desensitised to violence, confronting them with the nearest thing youre going to see to it on the big screen. Its haunting, powerful and stay with you afterward. Agree or disagree? Feel free to comment!