This entry was posted on Friday, April 6th, 2007 at 10:40 am and is filed under A, Drama, Western. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
Director: Andrew Dominik,
Starring: Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Sam Rockwell, Mary-Louise Parker, Jeremy Renner, Sam Shepard, Garret Dillahunt, Paul Schnieder
This artistic western recieved only lukewarm studio support and had limited theatrical release and the reason for this became clear when I viewed the end result. This is not a mainstream movie. The film’s screenwriter and director, Andrew Dominik, has created a beautiful and unusual movie with many characters, most of whom receive almost novel-like development (as much as is possible in a film, anyway). The acting is uniformly impressive, but not spectacular, though the story did not provide the kind of characters that allow their performers to really stand out. The story is long and is laced with narration of, what seems to be, excerpts from Ron Hansen’s novel. The story builds slowly and gently, like a climbing a wide hill as opposed to scaling a mountain. This is very unusual in this fast-paced blockbuster world and will make some viewers bored and uncomfortable. I liked the movie, though not as much as I expected to, nor as much as many others. The first half of the movie, though original and visually splendid, is too self indulgent. The second half, though less visual and still slow-paced, is more focused and pulled me into the story. The climax is subdued and unlike any other film that I can recall and is followed by a kind of extended epilogue that I quite enjoyed.
It’s safe to say that 2007 will be a year that Casey Affleck will always remember. After more than a decade of supporting roles, this is the year that he got his chance to star. Both in Gone Baby Gone and as title character, Robert Ford, here. Ford has a creepy infatuation with his cousin, the famous bandit, Jesse James, played (as the whole world knows) by Brad Pitt. For most of the movie we watch Jesse deal with the requisite distrust of being a wanted outlaw and watch Robert, a tragic awkward, unpopular youth try to come to grips with a hero who is not what he wanted him to be, and with his own fears, insecurities and desires.
Because this film was so strangely delayed in availability for me, I have noticed the wide ranging opinions being offered on it. Most seem to regard it as a masterpiece and deride those who dismiss it as slow, boring crap. Does anyone else remember Francis Ford Coppola’s Dracula? That film (winner of three academy awards for various visual accomplishments) was likewise lauded and trashed. Time seems to have judged it as closer to the latter, as it has been largely forgotten. The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford, is noteworthy for having the longest film title in recent memory, but I believe that it, too, will lose some of its appeal over time. It is a wonderfully shot film and an innovative movie in many ways, but it is too slow and flat for it’s story to endure. Duster fans, beware, it will not be what you expect. Art house connoisseurs, it is finally time for you to see a western. Okay, okay, I know you saw The Missouri Breaks. It’s time for you to see another western, then.
January 30th, 2008 at 9:50 pm
The Assasination of Jesse James…
Starring: Brad Pitt, Mary Louis Parker, Sam Shepard, Sa
Directed by:
At times when we see some films on the big screen we are bowled by its beauty. But there are others which add in performances to complement this beauty. This is one of those films bu…