The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Look in any Entertainment magazine for the last few years and you will see this film under the "coming soon" section. The director had a problem getting the studio to release the picture that he wanted to be released instead of the western-shoot 'em up that they wanted. After much fighting from director Andrew Dominik and producer Brad Pitt, they released the version they originally shot. Once it was released there were mixed reviews some calling it overly long and others calling it a masterpiece.

This is the story of all the events in Jesse James' (Brad Pitt) life leading up to his murder by Robert Ford (Casey Affleck). It starts after James' last train robbery where they re-cruited a band of rag tag robbers to take over a train in this group is Charlie (Sam Rockwell) and Robert Ford (Casey Affleck). From the first moments we see that Robert Ford is obsessed with his heroes. He idolizes Jesse James and desparately wants to be like him. He knows all the similarities and he is just a slimey bag of uncertainty and want. We are also introduced to James in this scene and he is extremely charismatic and we know why he is the stuff the legends are made of. Throughout the film though we see James' decent into paranoia and Casey Afflecks realization that this god, is simply a man.

This is wonderfully portrayed by the two leads of the film: Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck. I love Brad Pitt, I feel that he and George Clooney are the closest we have to the hey-days of old classic cinema. Brad Pitt is once more incredibly awesome in this film, even though he is sort of just playing a toned down version of Tyler Durden in this. He is cool, calm, but at the right times, he just snaps. There is one scene that exemplfies his paranoia and explosive personality. We also see him casually except that his life is soon going to be coming to and end and probably by Bob Ford. Casey Affleck, simply, this is his year. He stole "Ocean's 13" and is supposed to be incredibly good in "Gone Baby Gone." This role though, this is his Raging Bull role. The perfect matching of actor with role. We see his disdain of how Jesse James treats him and how this hero of his is just a man. He starts out with an underlying feeling of uncertainty that grows to the realization that to be what Jesse James is, which is what he clearly wants, that he has to do something more infamous than anything James' has done. He has to kill the unkillable: he has to kill Jesse James.

Their relationship actually invokes a very biblical relationship of Jesus and Judas. In fact, this is very much a religious metaphor of the film: Jesse James is a god to the American people and here comes this man who he sort of trusts. Then Ford decides to sell out to the law. The point is also driven even more to the point during a scene where James walks on a frozen lake speaking about suicide.

This was only Dominik's second film and he has created a very worthwile film that was worth it to fight for. In parts it is a revenge film, in parts it is a character study. He knows right where to put the camera and every scene is beautifully composed and the frame is always a treat to look for. Now, the criticism about this film being overly long is valid at some points. There are a few scenes that seem to go on a minute too long and you begin to be bored (this is a very rare occassion) and he cuts to the next scene making us compelled again. The problem is that these could have simply of been tightened up by trimming seconds off of some angles, but it is a rare occasion where it drags. It doesn't matter anymore once it gets to the fantastic assassination scene. He plays it like a classic Leone mexican stand off, except James doesn't have any weaponry and it is only sounds that would naturally exist in the room. The rattling of Ford's terrorfied gun. The slight breeze from the snow. It is an exceptionally crafted scene..

In fact, this is a very well crafted film that wants to be a masterpiece so badly but just falls short into being the best movie I've seen so far this year, and not the great american masterpiece which it tries to be. Of course, if Casey Affleck doesn't get an Oscar-nomination for this film he will be criminally robbed (not saying he should win yet, but he definately deserves a nod). I'm extremely glad I saw this movie in theaters, as I thought I would only be able to see it on DVD because of the limited release. Definately a great film, but only for people who can sit down and take in everything they are seeing.