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to Roger Deakins's cinematography; a veteran of dozens of films including most of the Coen brothers' work, his work here is beautiful in capturing the loneliness of the environment, and is perfectly complimented by the score by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis. The film is also periodically narrated by Hugh Ross, and while normally movies try to avoid narration whenever possible, it works here thanks to Ross's unique voice and as a way to fill in gaps that would've made the film another two hours long.
The acting is uniformly strong. Brad Pitt will always be Brad Pitt, but he's proven time and time again that he's an actor unafraid of offbeat characters. He particularly brings out James' eccentricities, making him seem at once menacing and crazy. Rockwell and Schneider also are strong, bringing a kind of perverse likability to their flawed characters.
The big standout here, however, is clearly Casey Affleck, who's about to have a big fall with this and Gone Baby Gone in October. His Bob Ford is at once supremely polite and creepy, a sullen, weaselly, diminuitive figure. His friendship with Jesse remains inexplicable throughout the film; basically, he just keeps pushing himself into his hero's life until Jesse concludes he must be harmless. Or does he? Enough to keep him around, at least, until that fateful April 3rd when he went to polish a picture on the wall of his home that looked dusty.
Women have often gotten the shaft in Westerns, and this movie is no different. Mary Louise-Parker has less than ten lines as Jesse's wife, while Zooey Deschanel quite randomly shows up for two seasons after the event of the title occurs. The movie takes its time ending after Jesse is dead, making sure to tell the full story of the aftermath. It takes a good fifteen minutes extra, but by then you've already been there for over two hours, so why not?
The film itself has had a long and troubled time making it to theaters; director Andrew Dominik wanted a quiet, contemplative film while the studio wanted more action. The film was recut from an original running time of over three hours (which may explain why in this version the women seem like afterthoughts) without Dominik's assisstance, and it looks like that was the right idea, because as it stands the film is quite contemplative and quiet enough without an additional half hour or so. As it stands, it takes its time and tells a very complete story. If you have the patience for this type of strong, steady filmmaking, you'll get a lot out of it.
Movie Grade: B+
Synopsis:
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford delves into the private life and public exploits of America's most notorious outlaw. As the charismatic and unpredictable Jesse James (Brad Pitt) plans his next great robbery, he wages war on his enemies, who are trying to collect the reward money – ...
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