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Review #548 of 365
Movie Review of The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) [R] 160 minutes
WIP™ Scale: $14.25
Where Viewed: United Artists Colorado Center 9 & IMAX, Denver, CO
When 1st Seen: 17 October 2007
Time: 8:00 pm
DVD Release Date: 5 February 2008 (click date to purchase or pre-order)
Film's Official Website • Film's Trailer
Soundtrack: order the CD below
Directed by: Andrew Dominik (Chopper)
Written by : Andrew Dominik (Chopper) based on the novel by Ron Hansen
Featured Cast (Where You Might Remember Him/Her From):
Brad Pitt (Ocean's Thirteen) • Mary-Louise Parker ("Weeds") • Brooklynn Proulx (Brokeback Mountain) • Dustin Bollinger (debut) • Casey Affleck (Ocean's Thirteen) • Sam Rockwell (Joshua) • Jeremy Renner (28 Weeks Later) • Sam Shepard (Charlotte's Web) • Garret Dillahunt ("The 4400") • Paul Schneider (The Family Stone)
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While Jesse James's name and Brad Pitt's agreement to portray him probably got the financial reassurances necessary for the greenlighting of The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (certainly it wasn't the length of the title), this film is really about Robert Ford and the portrayal worthy of immediate Academy Award® consideration is that of Robert 'Bob' Ford by Casey Affleck. Born 12 August 1975, Casey Affleck is, for the record, presently 32. And, even if the film complete principle photography two years ago, he still would have been around a decade older than his character who was, according to him, 19 nearly 20 for most of the film, making this portrayal all the more remarkable. Historically, Hollywood has been entranced when younger people get in front of a make-up artist and aged to play a role far older, but there's little these artists can do to make an actor look 10 years younger, if they could, everyone in Hollywood would be doing this as a matter of daily survival. Somehow, Casey Affleck, via his admittedly still youthful face, but more importantly his facial expressions and mannerisms, comes across without question as being the curiously self-assured but, yet, mildly tentative, hero worship-consumed, brazen, young Jesse James wannabe, Robert Ford. For those not familiar with the history, which, when it comes to Jesse James has always been a mix of fact and fiction, the film's story begins as the James-Younger gang is on the decline and past its hey-day. A curious opening segment introduces the film's awkward protagonist, Robert 'Bob' Ford (Casey Affleck) as he tries to win favor and get into the good graces of Frank James (Sam Shepard), Jesse's older brother. At the ripe old age of 19, Bob had grown up reading the legends of the outlaw and real-life Robin Hood for the remnant Confederate influences still hanging on in Missouri. To him, Jesse James (Brad Pitt) was a superhero, and to say he had become smitten with Jesse to the point of absorbing everything and anything known about him would be, even then, an understatement. So, the idea that he might be able to 'worm' his way into Jesse's gang and actually get to stand side-by-side his boyhood hero becomes his sole purpose in life with intoxicating fervor. Suspicious of his odd ways, Frank dismisses him, but Jesse somehow sees a light in him and, with some coaxing from Bob's brother Charley (Sam Rockwell), agrees to let him come along on their planned train robbery. Bob would not realize that this was to be their last robbery and that all his efforts to get in the gang would be met with its sudden splintering days after. Suddenly, instead of being a part of Jesse's gang Bob would find himself more of a lap dog for Jesse's chores helping him move his family to a new house in the middle of the night and various other menial tasks. Meanwhile, members of the gang or recent recruits were suddenly either being apprehended or turning up dead. Jesse was becoming more and more suspicious of his former gang members and as the bounty for his head was growing, he suspected some might turn on him in order to collect the vast sums of money.
The story takes time to re-enact the paths of destiny of each gang member as he becomes involved in his own little world of conspiracy and deceit. Chiefly among these were the raucous affairs of Dick Liddil (Paul Schneider) who strikes up an affair with the much younger wife of the father of his fellow gang member Wood Hite (Jeremy Renner) creating terribly bad blood between them. This feud eventually contributes to the downfall of Jesse James as he becomes suspicious that these men are setting him up rather than each other. Eventually, Bob Ford gets sandwiched between his feelings of admiration of Jesse and the disrespect Jesse holds for someone who would admire him so much. His youthful perspective motivates him to, if he is unable to earn Jesse's respect by proving his loyalty, to destroy him by proving himself to be more smartly disloyal. And this is how it happens that he absorbs a new strategy; he shall win Jesse's ultimate trust while simultaneously working with the Governor to bring him to justice. Probably, it's impossible to spoil this dimension of the film as it is declared in the title, but as the film nears its winding conclusion and climax, indeed, in cold blood, in his living room unarmed, while standing on a chair with his back turned and dusting a picture above the fire place of a lone stallion, Robert Ford shoot Jesse James in the head. Seizing what he claimed to be the only opportunity to get Jesse James unarmed and to prevent what he suspected would be his own assassination later that day as he was growing concerned that Jesse had begun to or already had connected the dots that would finger him in the capture of Dick Liddil that would then lead them straight to Jesse James with Liddil's cooperation, Robert Ford felt justified in pulling the trigger. With his death, Jesse James became nearly more legendary than he was alive. A hero to many, a villain to others, the film then traces the life and then assassination of Robert Ford as he comes to realize that nobody really likes the person that shot Robin Hood no matter how villainous he was. And while a certain element in the nation mourned the death of Jesse James and bought pictures of his corpse, nobody would mourn Bob's death, and even his assassin would receive a pardon from then Governor of Colorado.
From his first line of dialogue, fragmented, tormented, stammered, Casey Affleck opens up the yearning soul of Robert Ford. The title and history label Robert Ford a coward, not an ingenious young man who outsmarted the infamous Jesse James and brought him to justice. What Casey Affleck does here is grow this character right before our very eyes. He goes from smitten school boy with a major hero worship complex to a brave young man who, while motivated by vengeance and wounded pride, becomes the clever side kick and eventually the slayer of his boyhood hero.
"Casey Affleck takes us on the psychological journey as Bob Ford emerges. In a word, his performance is incredible."
And the film would have you wonder that Jesse's trip to the living room to adjust the picture having just removed his gun belt and turning his back on the very same young man to whom he had just recently given a very fine pistol, was actually tempting him to shoot him. One can picture him saying in his mind, "Do it kid, if you have the guts. Just go ahead and do it, but you don't have the guts do you?" Well, it would seem that Jesse underestimated Bob's resolve for it was he who ended up dead on the floor of his own living room. Casey Affleck takes us on the psychological journey as Bob Ford emerges. In a word, his performance is incredible. Brad Pitt, too, while over-shadowed largely by the brilliance and the character that becomes the real focus, delivers one of his most interesting and charismatic portrayals. He is quickly at ease as Jesse James with his signature brilliant blue eyes and patient demeanor. He looks like a western version of a kung fu master who is always 12 steps ahead of you in your thinking. He figures things out no one should be able to, and it's never clear if he does this by actually figuring things out or by making presumptions of likelihood and then getting confessions using his guile. The one area where his performance disappoints a bit is in making Jesse James the sympathetic hero. He actually doesn't seem to be a 'great' as the comic books make him out to be. No doubt he's smart; but, historically, he was reported to have justified his murders and robberies as righting past wrongs. This element does not come through as well in the film. James comes across as being colder and more calculating than he does seem like a modern day Robin Hood. Two other performances, that of Charley Ford by Sam Rockwell and Dick Liddil by Paul Schneider, are quite worthy of mention. Sam Rockwell is a curious actor seemingly as well suited to play a villain as a good guy. He's got the look of a henchman, but here he plays Bob's older brother quite well. Charley's life after the death of Jesse James took odd turns as well, and Sam Rockwell plays out this sad journey well. Meanwhile, Paul Schneider comes out as the 'player' of the James gang whose rugged good looks seem to be able to enchant even the most technically unavailable women. It is commonly thought that the sign of a great actor is one who takes a lesser role and really makes something of it. This is the case with Paul Schneider and Dick Liddil. He stands way out as one of the most enjoyably fun elements of the film and the story.
So, with all these great characters and Academy Award® nomination-worthy performances, what is up with this film's overall result? Why did it take two years to deliver it? Why were so many edits and changes and test screenings held? Why was the release date twice delayed? Why has this film received, despite the cast and obvious appeal of a Jesse James story, gotten less press and marketing support than a traditional independent film? Some have suggested that the film is too long. Other claim the studio purportedly wanted more action and less emotional fomenting on the parts of both Jesse James and Robert Ford than director Andrew Dominik was prepared to deliver leading to an eventual lack of support. Well, as it has been written about extensively in this column in the past, the length or slowness of a film cannot sabotage it. If it is a brilliant film with a brilliant story, it can take three hours and plod along the landscapes of Mordor, as so often used is the example of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and still make tons of money and earn three straight nominations for Best Picture and, arguable, deserve to win all three not just the final one. So, it is not the miserable landscapes of the Midwest (actually most of the film was shot in Alberta, Canada to be fair), the lack of action, nor even the running time that should be used to fault this film. Over and over again, it boils down to the story. This story is not the kind that most USAers enjoy. USAers typically don't like the story of a hero, be he or be he not, an outlaw, getting shot. The very notion that Robert Ford was thought a coward says it all, doesn't it? This is a nation founded, ironically, on playground rules.
"…stands out as one of the more well-acted and directed films of the year."
Think about this simple notion. As a little kid, growing up, what are you taught over and over again from 2nd grade to 12th grade when it comes to bad guys? It all begins with the tattletale concept. If you tell on a kid that does something bad or wrong, you are a tattletale; and there's nothing worse than a tattletale. Teachers perpetuate this concept to this day, as do parents and guardians of multiple offspring. As you grow older, you learn that people that tell on the bad guy are rats as in "Don't rat out your friends." Eventually, the newer term 'narc' becomes your vernacular for the notion of turning in a bad guy. USAers look upon these three: tattletales, rats, and narcs with certain disdain even if the laws state that people who know of crimes and withhold information from law enforcement are just as guilty as the criminals. Our laws even make it impossible to expect a person to testify against a spouse. It boils down to the idea that we are raised to value loyalty above all else. It is better in our value system to be loyal to a criminal than to be honest. Indeed, it is a curious thing about our culture, and the source of this concept could be the topics of numerous dissertations. As it applies here, no matter how great the performances or rightly or wrongly the labels, typically USAers don't want to watch a film about a coward. In this case, it's too bad, because The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford deserves better and stands out as one of the more well-acted and directed films of the year.
Still Photo Gallery for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
(all images used with permission for press reprodution)
Brad Pitt as Jesse James | 
Casey Affleck as Robert Ford |
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Cast Members
Brad Pitt • Mary-Louise Parker • Brooklynn Proulx
Dustin Bollinger • Casey Affleck • Sam Rockwell
Jeremy Renner • Sam Shepard • Garret Dillahunt
Paul Schneider
Director
Andrew Dominik
Writer
Andrew DominikBook
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Review-lite
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) [max of 150 words]
Casey Affleck stands out as a giant among men as he delivers the performance of his career, maybe his lifetime, as the 30-year old plays the 19-year old, Robert Ford, infamous in his own right for executing in cold blood the outlaw Jesse James (Brad Pitt). The story begins near the end of Jesse's wild ride as a vigilante outlaw justified in his own mind. As he grows in his paranoia that he will be turned in by his own men for the sizeable bounty on his head, James meanders in his trust in the young wannabe Ford. Directed by Andrew Dominik, the film is long and introspective in its way with both Affleck and Pitt at the top of their acting game. Lack of studio support will be the film's downfall on top of the reality that USAers typically don't want to see a film about a perceived coward.
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