The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford ****

Directed by Andrew Dominik
Written by Andrew Dominik, based on the novel by Ron Hansen

Starring:
Brad Pitt as Jesse James
Mary-Louise Parker as Zee James
Casey Affleck as Robert Ford
Sam Rockwell as Charley Ford
Jeremy Renner as Wood Hite
Sam Shepard as Frank James
Garret Dillahunt as Ed Miller
Paul Schneider as Dick Liddil

160 Minutes(Rated R for some strong violence and brief sexual references. )
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"The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" is a modern day epic, in the same feeling as the epics from the 40's and the 50's. It might even be my favorite out of the seemingly new regeneration of the western genre-"The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada" and "3:10 to Yuma" being two others. This film concentrates more on character and image, like the former films, and is hardly a shoot 'em up western like the latter. Just different types, but there was just more chew in the meat of this movie, and even though its nearly three hours long there is not a minute wasted, the performances are terrific, the direction and visuals are beautiful, and it has one of the most heartbreaking final thirty minutes of any other movie this year. This is easily one of the year's best movies.

Brad Pitt is known to having two types of performances. The first is where he is Mr. Pretty Boy-ala "Mr. and Mrs. Smith"-where he just relies on his good looks and popularity to turn in a performance. The second is where he actually seems to try-ala "Babel" and "Seven"-and he ends up blowing me away. Thankfully, and obviously, this is the latter. He plays Jesse James, the famous outlaw who was known for getting gangs together with his brothers and knocking off trains that are supposed to have lots of money in them. He has an admirer in Robert Ford (Bob) who has been a Jesse James obsessor for years. Being much younger, he's read the books about him, he has photos of him, everything. He's always noticed how similar the two of them are-silly things, like their eye colors, heights, etc. Eventually, Robert's brother Charlie ends up witnessing something happen to Jesse's cousin Wood, and suddenly Bob and Charlie become two people that have a lot to fear from Jesse James, right when Jesse asks them to join him in a gang.

It's really quite to pinpoint an exact plot to rely to any reader, as this isn't a film was a standard plot structure. It covers quite a large amount of time, and it unfolds itself very slowly to the viewer. I would warn anybody that wants to see this that this isn't like "3:10 to Yuma." This is more about character and image-with some images of such beauty that I haven't seen since "The New World." Writer and director Andrew Dominik treats almost every single image and every single camera motion with such a beautiful amount of grace. One thing that caught my attention as whenever Jesse was at a home setting away from his work, there is a certain blur on the camera-it's just out of focus a little bit, showing how distant he feels when he with him family as opposed to working or robbing. Dominik also has a knack for dialogue, and even though everything is delivered at an oddly slow pace-a lot of pauses in between what people say-he really does put you in the period well. And a great voice over narration-much better than the pretentious voice over done in "Into the Wild"-just adds to it, bookending the film, and making for great little moments through. Alongside this is the beautiful score by Nick Cave-you can hear parts of it in the films trailer, which is absolutely lovely and worth a watch for sure.

Every single performance in this movie is on target, especially Pitt. But there is also Casey Affleck-the talented one in the family-who plays Robert Ford, and this seems to be his real breakout role. He has had good bit parts in movies like "The Last Kiss" and "Good Will Hunting," and he did a good job leading "Lonesome Jim," but here is a film where he is quietly brilliant and its a film that will generally be seen by a large population. My last favorite of the cast members is Sam Rockwell, who doesn't nearly make enough movies, and after the rather "eh" "The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy" he shot back with great work here, in 'Joshua," and in next years "Snow Angels," which I've seen and you probably have not. While he is a bit more comic relief than the serious tension that develops between Jesse and Robert, he does it so well, and he really does light up the film every second he's around.

Now some may have a problem with the middle portion of this movie-it does go all over the place for a while, but I found it all work. But the last thirty minutes or so, when we learn how the title happens and what happens after that, is done so perfectly, and so beautifully that it was one of the most fitting endings of the year. And even though the final ten minutes sums up a large amount of time in such a short period of time, it is only for closure purposes-the main chunk of the story is over, and if it ended earlier the film would have been incomplete. For such a long title, there is really a lot to talk about. "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" is a different kind of modern western-which certainly have had a massive amount of blood and gore in addition to their plot and character development-and this might be my favorite out of the newbies. And one of my favorites of the year.

Now Playing At:
Angelika Film Center
AMC Lincoln Center 13 and IMAX