The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is an astoundingly solid film. Every aspect is near flawless, from the acting, music, direction and some of the best visuals in the last decade. With a run time just under 3 hours, the slow moving plot never loses your attention.While Brad Pitt doesn’t have much dialogue, playing a terrifying Jesse James who we see has love for his family, self pity, homicidal urges as we witness how vulnerable he really is makes it awkward to watch and feel compassion for him. Making this a fantastic performance that Casey Affleck almost matches with a purposefully shaky and nervous take on Robert Ford. While Affleck makes Ford show a confidence at times that he never seems to believe he has. Sam Rockwell also shines in his little screen time as Charley Ford, brother of Robert.
Roger Deakins has crafted what may be the best cinematography of his career. His career includes many unique and thrilling films such as The Shawshank Redemption, Fargo, O Brother, Where Art Thou? and A Beautiful Mind just to name a few. Deakins’ visuals are what give this film its heart. With blurry landscapes, wheat fields and the classic opening train robbery provide the film which arguably will become an iconic scene. The film leaves us with dozens memorable sequences. You never notice anything that should be out of place in the 1800s.
You may argue that this is a Hollywood “art film”, and when the credits played I wasn’t sure what I thought of the film. With some unforgettable imagery and surreal depiction of the western ear it left me wondering if during that time there was that much violence and tension floating around between everyone. An authentic atmosphere helps label this a western film, but the parallels of Jesse James to the celebrity of today are uncanny.
4/5 Stars
Colin Enquist
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