Review of The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) by Jeff S — 04 Dec 2011

Definitely a different take on the Jesse James legend. This film focuses more on the end of James' life, the after-the-fact stuff that didn't make its way into storybooks. But even more so its a film about the life of Robert Ford, the murdered of Mr.

James. Personally, I just didn't like the way this film was done. I understand they were going with a more realistic, grainy, hardwired look, but it just didn't work for me. In addition, Brad Pitt was just plain miscast here; he felt totally out of place and unbelievable.

Casey Affleck actually played Robert Ford pretty well, and I thought the last 30 minutes that focused on him alone were the best moments of the film. In addition, this movie was so bloody all over the place; without having read a bit about the demise of Jesse James, it was just totally confusing at points, and I definitely felt like information was being missed.

And even so, this film was STILL way too long and drawn out. Novel concept, but I don't give points for effort.