The Assassination of Jesse James by the coward Robert Ford

A few months in the life of Jesse James

DETAILS:
Released - 30 November 2007
Certificate - 15
Running Time - 153mins
Director - Andrew Dominik
Screenwriter - Andrew Dominik based on Ron Hansen's novel
Producers - Jules Daly, Dede Gardner, Brad Pitt, Ridley Scott, Tony Scott, David Valdes
Cinematography - Roger Deakins
Editing - Curtiss Clayton and Dylan Tichenor
Music - Nick Cave and Warren Ellis
Theatrical distributor - Warner Bros
Country - USA
Awards - Oscar, Golden Globe and Screen Actor's Guild Nomination for Casey Affleck as a supporting actor and Oscar win for Roger Deakins' Cinematography, Empire award for best film and various other critical awards and nomiations

SYNOPSIS:
The most notorious outlaw in American history, Jesse James (Brad Pitt), and his gang are coming to the end of their long reign. Being in the media spotlight for so long has certainly taken its toll. Having spent many years on the wrong side of the law they have grown significantly weaker mentally and physically. In the last months of Jesse James’ life his gang severely deteriorates as his associates end up either dead or arrested. With the reward on his head rapidly increasing Jesse knows his death is becoming increasingly imminent. A confused, paranoid and temperamental man the last thing Jesse expects is that the man who will put him out of his misery will be the young Robert Ford (Casey Affleck) the latest addition to his gang who has idolised Jesse since childhood.

REVIEW:
If you managed to catch The Assassination of Jesse James in 2007 then you will be in the stark minority. One of the most anticipated films of the year was given such a short release campaign, blink and you would have missed it. However, critics pining and pleading with people to see this film has kept it firmly in our minds till its DVD release.

On initial impressions this is certainly a beautifully shot film. The gorgeous settings and costuming combined with Roger Deakin’s cinematography make The Assassination of Jesse James absolutely stunning to look at. Along with Andrew Dominik’s direction, often including slightly unfocused framing, the film maintains an intriguing yet slow paced and sombre feel. The infamous train robbery scene contains some of the most iconic imagery in the past few years of cinema and Dominik’s ambiguous and mysterious plot certainly can never be accused of being predictable. Although the most appraisable aspect to this film is its authenticity. Deliberately an anti spaghetti western piece the image of Jesse James is in no way idealised. In one particular shoot out scene, the camera remains static to give a realistic and matter of fact feel instead of creating over the top action cinema. The films purpose is to separate the man from the myth in a historically accurate piece. The Assassination of Jesse James has certainly achieved this and created its own artistic style of cinema. This is more of a historical period drama than a traditional western. So why did it do so badly at the box office?

Well despite a star like Brad Pitt being onboard, who can sell tickets alone, this film is unmarketable. This is like no other western ever seen before and Brad Pitt’s role is one he rarely tackles. At first he seems to be an intimidating, larger than life figure with a significantly aged and troubled inside. He is without a doubt an interesting character, in one harrowing scene where beats up a teenager for information, he soon realises he is in fact beating himself up and questioning his methods. The problem is that Pitt seems to be guilty of his past roles and celebrity status. He is a tad unconvincing as Jesse, he looks the part but as soon as he opens his mouth he seems to be Brad Pitt in historical dress rather than the complete Jesse James package. Usually in his roles he tries to hide his age but here he is accentuating it and he cannot be taken seriously. Surprisingly it is Casey Affleck who steals the spotlight. He proves he is a talented actor in his own right and has cast away the shadow left by his older and bigger brother. A snivelling, slimy and weak Robert Ford he was deserving of his academy award nomination for best supporting actor but rightly lost out to Javier Bardem’s magnificent portrayal of a bounty hunter in the Coen’s No Country for old men. Casey Affleck has certainly proved that he has a natural talent. All the characters in this film are by no means obvious stereotypes but what they do all lack is a certain likeability.

After an hour it all becomes a little unconvincing and at times tedious. All the dialogue seems to be mumbled and there is little emotional drive given the characters circumstances. They are supposed to be hiding their inner emotions but this is not effectively done as we are not terribly bothered about what they really feel. Similarly the constant narration from Hugh Ross is not required, the characters should explain to us their story rather than an incessant school teacher voice bringing context to what feels like every scene. This self indulgent film takes far too much pride in what it has achieved rather than developing events. Not terribly gripping the Assassination of Jesse James would have benefited from some more editing. At times it feels like a dictatorial history lesson rather than a film.

By the time the film seems to develop it is far too late. At last some well needed tension comes into play in the last couple of scenes where Jesse shares a house with the Ford brothers. Jesse’s temperamental snapping leaves the brothers in a constant state of paranoia making every little aspect of life, such as eating meals at the table, uncomfortable. But the film does not end with Jesse’s death, in the films most interesting turn the Ford brothers travel around the States enacting the assassination itself as a performance in several theatres. The straining relationship between the brothers turns Charley Ford to alcoholism and Robert Ford’s inability to cope with such negative fame. Labelled as a ‘coward’ by the whole country this leads to his downfall and eventual assassination. The whole film has been setting up these scenes and by now we have all lost concentration. I recommend having a break midway through to maintain your interest for this dramatic conclusion.

TO SUM UP:
Not the perfect film we have been led to believe by various critics. Now seeing Jesse James it is obvious why it did not win any major Oscars but one for its cinematography would not have gone a miss. Although it was let down by its lengthy script, lack of editing and at time development there is a lot here still worth your consideration. At least there was a masterpiece in here, somewhere.