Customer Reviews
A moody, well acted film 
2008-11-25
Though this film moves at a crawling pace at more than one point, it keeps your interest, even though you know exactly how it ends. I normally despise westerns, but I heard nothing but praise for this film, and especially Casey Affleck, so I put my feelings aside for a while. I really wish it wasn't as long as it was. I understand it was attempting to establish mood, and suspense. It does succeed, for the most part, but truly, if it wasn't for the wonderful performances, it would be an utterly bland snooze-fest.
The feel and look of the film reminds you of a constantly moving photograph, straight from another century. It really is gorgeous. The musical score is virtually the same throughout the entire movie, but it is effective. It sets the perfect mood. It feels ominous and fits seamlessy with this film.
If it wasn't nearly 3 hours long, it would have been a masterfully perfect movie, one that doesn't come around that often. There is not much backstory, except with snippets of voiceover, but it is enough that we know who and what Jesse James was, and what he meant to people, even after his death. The title is long, but fitting.
Beautiful film w/powerful story 
2008-11-24
Beautiful film that is almost like art to watch. Brad Pitt captures the character of a man tormented, ruthless, and even suicidal, but trapped in a legend bigger than any man can bear. Casey Afflack portrays a man who idolizes Jesse, but who in the end comes to hate him and love him at the same time. Violent, but how can it not be? But the violence fits the era and the storyline. Excellent acting, beautiful cinematography, intriguing story.
Stunning Photography & Great Acting 2008-11-13
This is an unusual movie, especially for a modern-day-filmed western.
Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck are the "stars" of this movie but the biggest star to me was Roger Deakins, the man who photographed this film. Wow, this is beautiful! It's so stunning to look at in so many spots that there were many times I was more involved in the visuals than the story. In that sense, it reminded me of the marvelously-photographed films of Terrence Malick. Kudos to Andrew Dominik for a similar style directorial performance here.
Regarding the story, here's a warning to those who are expecting the normal western fare and want to see the usual amount of gun battles and related action scenes. This film is 2 hour and 40 minutes and there are not many "action" scenes. If you are hoping to see another "3:10 To Yuma" re-make, you will be very disappointed. This story is slow. It's a character study of Jesse James and the man who killed him, Robert Ford.
That said, I still found it a memorable film. The photography, the great acting and the uniqueness of the story were all good enough to keep me interested throughout. For once, I was glad to see James portrayed more realistically. Despite what you've seen on film in the past, this man was not a hero, folks. Sure he was a likable guy at times, and a nice father at times, too, but he was a thief and, much worse, a cold-blooded killer. You see that in this film.
I have to say I can't remember a film I've seen in recent years in which the two lead characters (James and R. Ford) were so strange and unpredictable. For that, I have to really compliment the work of Pitt and Affleck. They were amazing and kept me guessing throughout the movie. They played very complex people.
Overall, once I realized this wasn't a "shoot-em-up" western, and just sat back and appreciated the storytelling, wonderful visuals, low-key narration, fabulous sets, scenery and acting....I ended up being very impressed.
Snow Bank 
2008-11-11
The movie has a very long title. Interestingly enough, the screenplay's copyright is held by Warner Bros. This corporate screenplay was directed by New Zealander Andrew Dominik. The Australian Film Institute gave him a Best Achievement in Directing award for Chopper. If you read the title, you know what happens in the film; so Domink tries to make it interesting to watch HOW it unfolds. We get some of the flashback of the last James Gang robbery in Blue Cut, Missouri. The film comments on how powerful a figure Jesse James was -- just in case Brad Pitt wasn't able to communicate that. Pitt actually won a Golden Globe in 1995 for 12 Monkeys (Special Edition). He does a good job showing the instability & charisma of James. However, the hints and lack of explanation of the seeming attraction that James held for Robert Ford gave much of the movie its tension.
Casey Affleck's breakthrough performance as Ford earned him nominations for an Oscar, SAG award, Golden Globe, and from film societies in Chicago, Detroit, Toronto & Utah. He won awards from the National Board of Review, the National Society of Film Critics, the San Francisco Film Critics Circle & St. Louis Gateway Film Critics. His quick smile and darting eyes bounced uncertainly from seeking approval to chronic worry.
Supporting performances are also of note. Sam Shepard was nominated for a supporting actor Oscar for The Right Stuff in 1983. As Frank James, his one note is a strong one, the silent thoughtful brother. Mary Louise Parker won an Emmy in 2004 for "Angels in America" and two Golden Globes for cable TV's "Weeds." As Jesse's wife Zee, she gives presence to a role that only takes the camera by storm during the bloody climax. Sam Rockwell won a Best Actor award from the Montreal World Film Festival for one of my favorite films, Lawn Dogs, as well as a strong role in "The Green Mile." As Robert Ford's brother Charley, he plays the slow-witted but likeable guy who decides blood commands the greatest loyalty. Jeremy Renner who was in North Country (Widescreen Edition) does an excellent job as Wood Hite whose bare body gets dumped in a snow bank after itchy trigger fingers splinter the gang. Paul Schneider who had an excellent role in Lars and the Real Girl does a good job as the unstable silver-tongued gang member Dick Liddle who winds up hiding in a storage space. Garret Dillahunt whose good looks were trashed for this film plays the frightened liar Ed Miller who goes on a midnight ride with Jesse, never to return. Dillahunt had previously worked on cable TV's "The 4400" & in No Country for Old Men.
While the pacing is slow, I suppose it's expected when we already know the climax. The San Francisco Film Critic gave this a Best Picture Award. Roger Deakins won cinematography awards from the Chicago Film Critics & the Dallas/Fort Worth Film Critics. The film is visually stunning. Overall, I enjoyed the movie. I did watch about a third of it in French after watching the English, which was interesting. There are no extra features here; so it is a minimalist package on DVD worth an evening's viewing. Enjoy!
Post Post John Wayne 2008-11-06
The Wild West comes to life, a Post-Post, John Wayne era western, full of psychological whimsy and moody brooding. The world of the West, a wilderness with occasional towns, leaves men and women on their own to prosper and defend what they have. The outlaw essentially takes what he wants, plays god with the lives of others, and has a domestic life tinged by short life spans. The angel of death always seems to be lurking in a Victorian sort of way.
Jesse is nuts, and Ford is afraid for his own life. That's the take on the old assassination legend. Fascinating really.
Stunning acting 2008-11-02
Everyone in 1880s America knows Jesse James. He’s the nation’s most notorious criminal, hunted by the law in 10 states. He’s also the land’s greatest hero, lauded as a Robin Hood by the public. Robert Ford? No one knows him. Not yet. But the ambitious 19-year-old aims to change that. He’ll befriend Jesse, ride with his gang. And if that doesn’t bring Ford fame, he’ll find a deadlier way. Friendship becomes rivalry and the quest for fame becomes obsession in this virile epic produced in part by Ridley Scott and featuring gripping portrayals by Brad Pitt (winner of the Venice Film Festival Best Actor Award) as Jesse and Casey Affleck as the youth drawn closer to his goal…and farther from his own humanity.
Last Train to Nowhere 
2008-10-30
A disappointing art-house Western that languished on the shelf for two years. Despite standout performances by Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck, director Andrew Dominik's revisionist take on the legendary outlaw remains as long-winded as its title. The mesmerizing cinematography of Roger Deakins cannot redeem this 160-minute sleeping pill.
Probably The Most Underappreciated Movie Of The Decade 2008-10-12
I can't say enough about this near-perfect motion picture. If it is guilty of moving a little slowly in some parts, and (the inevitable critical refrain when shooting a historical picture) taking liberties with supposed fact, then it more than makes up for that in so many other ways. I can only say I hope this team of actors, directors, producers and writers gets together again soon to make another film. This is history, filmmaking, biography, storytelling, and the presentation of the legends of Americana as they all ought to be, and shame on the Academy for slighting this movie at the (increasingly out of touch) Oscars. As along with its pitch-perfect narration and soundtrack it alternates from its slightly fuzzy dreamy quality to its pull-no-punches brand of stark realism, The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford weaves a hypnotic tale as has little else I've ever seen. If anyone thinks to dismiss either Brad Pitt or Casey Affleck as lightweight actors, watch this and learn otherwise. I'd put this on the ten best list of the 2000's thus far. Congratulations to everyone involved in this great classic.
While slow moving, this film is excellent. 2008-10-12
This film caught me by surprise. The screenwriting is excellent, and Brad Pitt gives what may be his best performance ever as Jesse James in the sunset of his notorious career. The film is as much about morality as about a peculiar period in American history, a time of expansion westward which was conducted at great cost to many. I rather enjoyed the bleak yet realistically portrayed conditions of frontier town life and the typical period style shameless sideshow staged events that this movie profiles. While the title gives away the culminating event, by the end of the film, you find yourself sympathizing with the fabled outlaw, despite his horrific deeds. Mr. Pitt's performance is wonderful; his silences, body language and facial expressions are as well acted as his dialogue. However, be forewarned: if you like action movies, this isn't one of those. Quite the opposite: it is one of those slow as molasses unfolding story movies.
Western Art 2008-09-26
Westerns are constantly being reinvented. Sometimes just adequately. But sometimes, as in the case of this film, they set the bar for a whole new level of enjoyment within the genre. And ironically, (much like a Sergio Leone film) it's being done by a Director who's not even American! You'd think that we Americans would know best how to make movies about our own history, as well as within a genre that all but defined early American cinema, but Dominik (Director of the Australian classic "Chopper") aced this one. He's captured the flavor and feel of the Reconstruction Era (as best we can understand it today).
The whole film is a Western-noir of epic proportions. A Greek Tragedy that slices open and lays bare the reality of notoriety, gained at the cost of crime...the notion of romanticizing the Old West has never been so thoroughly destroyed, as in this film. No one is a winner in this movie. And for my money, THAT is what makes it so great. That disconnect that you often feel with the times when watching other westerns isn't present in this film. The characters are so genuine, so real, and the attention to historic detail in every facet of the movie is so meticulous, that you get a sense of not being just a mere spectator, but of actually being a silent, awe-struck participant, standing just barely and always at arms length, wishing you could reach in and halt the tragedy that is unfolding in front of you.
The film's BEAUTIFUL cinematography and musical score also help to gel moments of extreme, gut-wrenching emotion...like the build-up to the scene where Jesse gets killed, for example, which is so poetically rendered. At the moment Jesse says; "Don't that picture look dusty?", the score comes in, and this point in time is set in a mournful, heart-stopping way. Bob & Charley (Affleck and Rockwell) are so limp with fear, love, shame, remorse, etc., it's almost beautifully unbearable to even watch. For anyone who knows their history and what's about to happen, you feel as if you'd give anything in the world to somehow turn back the clock at this critical juncture in our nation's past. To somehow right the apparent wrong.
Casey Affleck is AMAZING as a squirrelly, mincing villain...he's really the ultimate stalker! Yet, by the end of the film, you can so thoroughly feel his own pain over what he's done, that you don't know whether to embrace him, or loathe him. His character was not an easy one to portray. Bob Ford made the history books, but not in the dire way he so longed to be remembered. Ultimately, he realized that. But it was more than just too late to redeem himself. He would be immortalized forever in the less than flattering die which he alone had cast himself in.
It's a long film, as some people have complained about. But for American history buffs...and for pure film buffs who enjoy movies that are more art than prepackaged, predictable Hollywood westerns...this film will adorn your library, much the way an original Russel painting might hang with prominence over your fireplace. If you love the genre and you want to be transported back in time, then by all senses, the film actually seems to end too soon! ;-)
