The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

12.1

Directed by: Andrew Dominik
Written by: Andrew Dominik
Starring: Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Sam Rockwell, Mary-Louise Parker, Jeremy Renner, Sam Shepard, Paul Schneider, and Zooey Deschanel

Poetic Justice

"The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" might be the longest film title of the year, and at 160 minutes, the new western by director Andrew Dominik("Chopper") manages to be one of the longest films of the year. Many will crucify Dominik’s film as a pretentious and indulgent exercise, but "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" deserves to be praised as a brilliant, intense, and poetic masterpiece that ranks along with "Unforgiven" as one of the great westerns of our time, if not of all time.

"The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" covers the final years of the film title’s infamous outlaw. Jesse James(Brad Pitt) is a notorious 19th century American outlaw whose robberies from the rich and escapes from the law make tabloid headlines across the United States. The nervous and obsessive Robert Ford(Casey Affleck) happens to be one of James’s admirers, so when Bob’s brother, Charley(Sam Rockwell), successfully turns Robert into a new member of James’s gang, Robert’s arising obsessions lead to the film’s inevitable climax.

Retelling the storyline to "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" seems pointless. After all, the film’s title gives away one of the story’s main twists. The gorgeous cinematography by Roger Deakins("Jarhead") defines the poetic tone of Andrew Dominik’s masterpiece. As an example, there’s a sequence where Jesse James sits at a table and reads the newspaper only to uncover that a former collaborator of his is confessing to cops. Instead of simply showing the sequence with a standard medium shot, the film gives us a close up of James stirring his coffee. We uncover James’s discovery in the newspaper not by mere words but by viewing a close up of James dramatically dropping his spoon into his drink. It’s one of the many brilliant shots that build up to the poetic sequences in this amazing film.

"The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" contains revelatory performances. Brad Pitt("Se7en") gives one of his best performances as notorious outlaw Jesse James. Pitt manages to be perfectly cast as Jesse James, and he adds believability and intensity to his performance as the infamous outlaw. It’s probably Pitt’s best performance since "Fight Club"(which contains Pitt’s other perfectly-cast performance). Casey Affleck("Good Will Hunting") adds fearfulness and depth to his performance as Bob Ford. Affleck’s performance as Bob Ford will likely go down as a defining moment in Affleck's career. Sam Rockwell("Confessions of a Dangerous Mind") gives a profoundly effective performance as Bob’s cocky and cautious brother, Charley, and the end result might will earn Sam Rockwell some serious Oscar buzz. It’s almost impossible to pick the film’s best performance, and that’s one of the many compliments that "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" deserves.

"The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" benefits from substantial amounts of character development. The film depicts Jesse James as a human being and an utter legend. Jesse James never understands his notoriety, but the film’s other characters can’t get enough of the notorious outlaw. "They’re all lies," James tells Ford, and to an extent, that’s the truth. The tabloids tend to add a juicy edge to their articles, and the truth never seems as fascinating as their myths. James naturally understands that, and Ford debunks the mythology behind the legend by realizing that the real Jesse James doesn’t charm his collaborators and victims so much as he scares his friends and enemies. The debunking of the myth behind Jesse James adds a significant layer of depth to the film’s story, and the end result will satisfy audience members seeking a deep and rewarding cinematic experience.

The amazing cinematography and terrific performances add a significant amount of intensity to Andrew Dominik’s masterpiece. "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" is consistently intense, and the final results will cause audience members to jump out of their seats. Roger Deakins depicts most of the film’s gunplay by showing the victim before the culprit. Some of the film’s most intense sequences come from gunshots arriving out of nowhere, and these sequences never cheat the audience. The sparse use of violence gives the film’s gunplay an extra layer of tension, and the suspenseful performances enrich the film’s psychological themes.

"The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" can only be described as a poetic masterpiece. The amazing cinematography, terrific acting, psychological themes, and consistent intensity add up to a brilliant western that deserves to be savored for years to come.

10/10

Elliot Zatzkis

12.2

Winter Façade

As one of the unwritten laws of Hollywood, getting Roger Deakins guarantees a great looking film. He’s done the iconic cinematography for many films such as “The Shawshank Redemption”, “Jarhead”, “Jurassic Park”, “The Man Who Wasn’t There” -- and so on, but nothing has even come close to the majestic qualities of his latest work. The camera is not only one of the characters of the film, it is one of the main ones. It is the guiding hand behind the innermost thoughts and complexities of all characters, and the true heart of this film. It would be difficult to convey the disparaging hopelessness this film breathes without utilizing the right tones and movements. At times we are transported to a dream-like phase that seeks to inform but somehow cleverly reinforces the dread encircling this film.

Much like some films have an inherent amount of hope, “Jesse James” almost naturally seems like a film meant to deject. The cold era of the 1800s shows us for what we are: a detached society focusing on one thing only. Fame. Or wealth. One of those is superfluous because it accentuates the same goal. All of the bad things that happen to people in this film happen not because of genuine bad luck, but this insipid driving force to be famous and immortalized, or just plain ole’ rich. Because of this one-sided entrenchment of ideas, it hard to feel unsympathetic to these characters. They are not bad human beings. A good film never isolates and targets -- on the contrary, it makes the audience conflicted and perplexed. Why do we want Jesse James, the doomed titular character, to live even though he is repugnant in his actions? Killing or beating without so much as a second thought on the matter. Maybe it is his loneliness that shines through those looming blue eyes, or maybe it’s the fact that he’s just a pawn in this whole system just like everybody else. His death is no less shocking than that of characters in other films whose deaths are not clearly impending. It is tragic and sad, haunting us for feeling bad and for caring. The same can apply to each and every single one of the characters in this film.

The contemplative nature of this film sets aside all philosophy and morals to tell a staggering tale of deception and, irrevocably, the harsh truth in the fact that we are not always able to redeem ourselves. It may be the winter, but it’s more likely a traceable feature we all possess: sadness from thinking. The characters in “The Assassination of Jesse James” do not live happy lives, all they do is pretend. Like Jesse James pretends to be contempt while hiding a grim paranoid outlook on life, so do the others who are capable of realizing the brutal nature of life. The more these characters think, the more they realize they are doomed, whether this presents itself in a literal manifestation or not.

What lies is the truth about who we have, and these characters all learn the hard way that you can depend only on yourself. Andrew Dominik knows exactly what to punctuate and he hits all the high notes. Westerns aren’t supposed to make you fell good about yourself and have, instead, always functioned as to show “the jungle”. This film makes ample use of that term and redefines it completely. The unconventional script forms a broken-up narrative that would seem like a historical re-enactment from the side but really uses history to delve into a psychological examination. What makes this a great western is the fact that we can so readily connect to the dilemmas of these characters, whether we can see this from the get-go depends on the viewer, but it is there. Because of this, the film is a bit cathartic to watch actually and leaves no sign of making us forget any time soon.

This incredible after effect is due in part (in fact due mostly) to the outstanding work of every single person involved in this film. Starting from the director and cinematographer to the actors and composers. Casey Affleck and Brad Pitt deliver tremendously heartbreaking performances as misunderstood men. Pitt is quite good as the tragic villain who doubts everything. He played a similar character in “Troy” where he wasn’t exactly a good guy, but a character with soul and compassion. In both films, Pitt plays people who have little to live for and have little principles. This reckless outlook on life leaves both hindered emotionally, so much that they can’t reveal their true selves to anyone, but we know -- the camera lets us know their secrets. There are few things that can’t be “acted” and despair has always seemed to be one of them to me. An actor can be sad, lonely, bored, and a whole number of things, but it is immensely difficult (but not impossible) to despair. When Pitt looks into the camera, you really believe that this man knows the end is near, such sadness can’t be fabricated by just anybody. In part, Dominik is to thank. Instead of going the easy way and making Jesse James just a devil may care robber with no personality (which is often the case), this film molds something new out of him. It’s what makes this film so compelling: we’re not used to characters that are s0 vulnerable and morose on the inside yet so valiantly empowered on the outside.

That is just one of the things the film gets right, and the rest is no less accomplishes. “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” is a film I won’t forget soon. It is bound to draw endless criticism and praise, and that’s a very good thing because true, innovative, art is never easy to diagnose -- it’s conflicting and more often than not makes people angry.

10/10

Daniel Matusov