A strongly acted, beautiful Cinematic Masterpiece.

Rating: Null/10 (21 May 2008)

To start of with, I will talk about the film itself. It is not just original, and different than what we usually see, but it had hidden meanings to each scene. A lot of people first talk about how it is so 'slow paced', but I, for one, think it is one of the best paced films ever. It's pace allows us to dig deeper into the story, and to have more feelings and thoughts, and also to allow us to see the characters developing. The screenplay is very effective, and if I had to pick the most realistically talked film of 2007, this would be it. As the title says, the screenplay does take it's time to gather into more and more complex issues, and until the 'bang' finale.
The screenplay is also helped by the strong acting in this film. As you can see in the awards page, Casey Affleck got an Oscar nomination for his supporting role. Well, let me tell you, when you are watching him, you cannot really tell if his performance is Oscar-worthy or not. The reason is not because he wasn't good enough, but because it is so realistic, it almost doesn't seem like acting. His performance is so subtle, and I can see he took brave decisions too. I am glad he got the attention he deserved, and I also think he deserved to win the Oscar. Another performance that was just as effective in it's own way was Brad Pitt's. His performance as a bandit leader is also so well done, it is hard to really ungrasp from it. I believe he was underrated, and he did not get the attention he deserved(especially since he has never acted like this before). Sam Rockwell, who plays Charley Ford, also stays on top.
The reason this film is so beautiful is not only because of it's screenplay and acting, but because of its absolutely gorgeous cinematography. I believe it should have won the Oscar(even though another magnificent film, There Will Be Blood won). It's cinematographer,Roger Deakins, really knows how to keep an impact. This film is probably the first to open my eyes to cinematography. It is probably the best I have ever seen. It is that effective. Not only was the cinematography great, but the Original Music Score was just as great. This is an aspect that I thought it was also greatly ignored at in the Academy Awards. The reason it could not get an Oscar nomination, or even be in the running, was because it had two composers. That is a real big shame, because I thought that all the music pieces done are absolutely beautiful and mesmerizing, and only support the tone of the film.
This film is not only a masterpiece of this time, but I think that when it came out, it never got the attention it deserved. The director, Andrew Dominik, must be one of the smartest I have seen. He made the film what it was overall, and I think that in 50 years, the Academy Awards will be looking upon it as their 'one big miss'. Not only will they look at it, but other critics and fans will look upon it too. It is a film that gets better with repeated viewings, and one that deserves enormous praise.