A crime that is too elegant to punish

Rating: 10/10 (5 March 2008)

This is one of the best films I've ever seen. The direction, acting, and cinematography are superb. This is one of the few films where the dialogs are remarkably spontaneous as if they were almost the way how real people talk in real life. I was just stunned.
I must commend Sam Rockwell's acting. He was really good. I always knew he had a talent and this movie brought out the best from him.
The story has stitched the perfect web of entanglement that portrayed a poignant and discomforting human aspect.
As regards Brad Pitt's acting, I must say that he had some good and bad points.
First, it was not the way real men cry. When alpha men cry, they must not show facial expressions of sadness; when they cry, the tears just flow and when somebody catches them crying, they deny it as if they never cried. Brad Pitt failed to portray this in more than three instances.
Brad Pitt cannot avoid having to show off his pretty boy image when he does his cute expressions that they make him appear he wanted to appear in his 'cute' trademark shot. He did this, like, twice, which almost ruined the portrayal of an outlaw. It was just like, Pitt wanted to appear as a cute outlaw.
Brad Pitt performed as demanded in most parts of the film, but I will still have reservations towards him if I were to give the Best Actor award.
The scenery was powerful. Outstanding cinematography.
The film showed a little more than what the story needed to tell. It would have sufficed to have told what happened to Robert Ford after he killed Jesse James in writing. Giving lots of details to what happened to him only added more insult to his injury as if rubbing salt to a wound. Denouement in this point was unnecessary.
It is by far the film where I saw the best acting of Casey Affleck. He was able to take my approval when it comes to "Surprised" scenes. He did a good job. He did a great acting but he was not able to perfectly portray a character that was not his age. Although Casey looked young, several years younger than the person he is older than (Paul Schneider), his body language, mannerisms, and the way he talked always revealed his true age. I noticed them, thinking that Casey was young and before confirming his real age.
It must be a crime not to commend the acting performances of Paul Schneider, Sam Shepard, James Defelice, and most especially Garret Dillahunt (Ed Miller). I could really not ask for more.
Overall, this movie is great and to me, it will become a classic and an icon.