The Assassination of Jesse James
by the Coward Robert Ford

Rated: R
Runtime: 2 hours, 40 minutes
Directed by: Andrew Dominik

Starring:
Brad Pitt - Jesse James
Casey Affleck - Robert Ford
Sam Rockwell - Charley Ford
Mary-Louise Parker - Zee James
Jeremy Renner - Wood Hite
Paul Schneider - Dick Liddil
Garret Dillahunt - Ed Miller
Sam Shepard - Frank James

Where do history and legend collide? What happens when a legend realize his grandeur in his own lifetime? How can a nobody become a legend when he lacks the talent to create his own identity? And how will we remember it all? You've never seen a film quite like The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Some have compared to it the work of Terrence Malick, but there's a literary/historical perspective that overshadows the film like so many shots of clouds passing through the American plains.

The name of Jesse James is not foreign to American ears prior to this film, but why does the name of Robert Ford remain an unknown to our national culture? The answer to that question is one of simple fact that history tends to remember the assassinated and not the assassin. But writer/director Andrew Dominik isn't interested in the answer to that question but how and why that question arises. He does it through a masterful retelling that's both legend and historical recreation. Jesse James is the legend and it's no mistake that he's being played by the same guy chosen to play the greek warrior Achilles, Brad Pitt. Robert Ford (Casey Affleck) is the history, trying to kill a legend that betrayed itself by showing cracks in what should be the flawless portrait of a great man. While Pitt is great, Casey Affleck gives a performance that makes his brilliant work in Gone Baby Gone look like dinner theatre by comparison. A quick flash of his creepy smile or his sad, lonely eyes and he's got you hooked. It's a powerful performance that will draw your eyes away from the Brad Pitt-legend and into the broken soul of Bob Ford.

If not for one scene between two supporting characters that over-explains a simple plot point, The Assassination of Jesse James would be a masterpiece. From the masterful performances of the leads, to Sam Rockwell’s fantastic supporting work as Charley Ford, to Dominik's breathtaking direction, to the sorrowful score, the film is easily one of the year's best. Some have found it's two hour and forty-minute run time too long and the pacing too slow, but I was absolutely entranced by the story of Jesse James and Robert Ford. If you love history and literature, I think you will be too.

Words by
Matt Goldberg
10.20.07

Rating: 9.7 out of 10