Review of The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) by Chris O — 25 Mar 2011

After hearing about this movie for a long time, much adored by everyone who told me about it, I was lucky enough to be riding on a plane that was showing it. I am so sorry I didn't see this sooner.

Jesse James (Brad Pitt) is a famous outlaw, who has sort of transcended his criminal status into a folk hero. But he is growing older and is gripped by paranoia and seems to be slowly slipping into insanity. Robert Ford (Casey Affleck) is an awkward young man with delusions of granduer. He grew up reading about Jesse James's exploits and decided the only way to become as famous as him was to kill him.

The very best part about this film is the performances. Brad Pitt blew me away. I am quite literally shaking with rage that he wasn't even nominated for an oscar. The man continues to impress. Casey Affleck is wonderful as well, completely sinking into his role of the awkward outsider. He recieved an oscar nomination for his work and it was completely deserved. Both performances are backed by Sam Rockwell and Jeremy Renner who I was delighted to see in a movie together.

The cinematography was superb, it was also nominated for an oscar. Every shot is beautifully done. Every scene is an incredibly combination of cinematography, costume design, set design, acting, and score. I was thoroughly impressed.

The film is a little bit long, and there is so much story that the narrator has to take the brunt of explaining things. I am also told that the film is pretty accurate (Wikipedia). At times it tends to drag on and the story lost itself. Sometimes I was confused by what was happening, but that might be attributed to the plane ride.

Overall, it is just fantastic. Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck are so good in their roles its mind blowing. Does Pitt have an oscar yet? Because he really should, he has such a great range. Check it out if you love these actors.

3 and a half out of 4 stars.

-Christopher O'Connell.