Review of The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) by Kellen V — 09 Aug 2010

Andrew Dominik's 'The Assassination of Jesse James by The Coward Robert Ford' is one of the later masterpieces of the 2000's besides Paul Thomas Anderson's 'There Will Be Blood'.

Assassination tells the story of the relationship between Jesse James(Brad Pitt) and Robert Ford(Casey Affleck) leading up to James assassination at Ford's hands. The almost resembles a silent movie from the late 20's at times due to the lack of dialogue.

The film plays on the tensions built up between the characters, One particular scene that does this exceptionally well is when Jesse James meets up with Ed Miller(Garret Dillahunt) to discuss some rumors that he has been hearing.

It's a wonderful scene as you see the doubt on James face as well as the pain/nerves on Miller's face. Brad Pitt gives a great performance, however, I honestly believe that Affleck is the star of the show.

Affleck does such a great job with his character, everything from his voice cadence to subtle movements of his hands. Affleck completely envelops the role of Robert Ford. Despite the fact that Pitt/Affleck got top billing the film has a wonderful cast all around.

Cameos are made by: Sam Rockwell, Sam Shepard, Jeremy Renner, Paul Schneider and more. The cinematography is simply a thing of beauty. Roger Deakins would've one the academy award but he was bested by Robert Elswit who shot 'There Will Be Blood'.

One of my favorite shots in the picture is when we see a far away view of Jesse James sitting on a frozen lake complete with snow covered mountains in the background, a really beautiful shot. The score which was done by Nick Cave is also a real treat, it helps to set the tone perfectly.

Some might be put off by the long run time and might not be into a more character driven/study 'cowboy' film but if you have the chance I strongly suggest you check the film out.