The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is a long, poetic, wonderfully shot and beautifully told film. Clocking in at a bit less than than three hours, the movie is moved along by a third person narration that manifests itself at regular intervals. The narration is not a voice over, and works nicely by filling in relevant details.

Much has been written about the film’s cinematography, and the early train robbery scene in particular. My favourite shot has Brad Pitt’s boot on the rail of the train track as it starts to rumble with the vibrations of the approaching train. The gravel piled closely against the rail starts to fall, until the camera cuts away to the wider shot of the train approaching in the dark of the night.

Will Brad Pitt win an Oscar for this role? Maybe.

Pitt’s characterization of Jesse James is a man who is filled with confidence, with a large presence of life that doesn’t require speech. James dominates his gang with few words. As with many, in the heat of the moment when nerves act up the words start to flow: during that train robbery, James is edgy, angry and vocal. In the immediate aftermath, the calm exterior returns.

Over time, as Jesse’s associates are caught and it becomes apparent that his days seem numbered he becomes more agitated, more vocal, less confident and less sure of himself and his associates. It’s the portrayal of a man living life in a narrowing funnel.

Casey Affleck gives a convincing performance of the 19th century fanboy Robert Ford, the assassin of the title. While many are describing his performance as better than those of his brother Ben Affleck, I feel that the bar should be set higher for anybody than that particularly dubious mark of distinction.

James Carville makes a convincing appearance as Governor Crittenden and Nick Cave sings the ballad of Jesse James in a saloon towards the end of the movie.

And that title? Some people think it’s too long: I view it as a test. (Just look at it over there in the left side navigation…it takes up three whole lines!) Despite the fact that it gives away the basic storyline, the film works extremely well. I think the title works largely because of the word _Coward. Watching Affleck’s Robert Ford as he attempts to develop his scheme is a revealing contrast to the confidence of Pitt’s James.

In the end, while James’ life is in definite decline and Ford’s should be in ascent the younger man fails to achieve the former’s stature either in life or in death.

And yes, for those who are wondering, Brad Pitt copied my haircut again.

Posted by skooter at 6:43 AM This entry is filed under Entertainment.
This entry is tagged: Brad Pitt, Movies