Beautiful film, but not so much about Jesse James as about Ford

Rating: 7/10 (8 April 2016)

This film is a well-made period piece which uses some creative cinematic techniques, some more successfully than others. It is very successful and crating a world which draws the viewer in and seems believable. Jesse James, then and now, was a superstar criminal with a larger-than-life persona. This film is not really about James, though. Rather, it is about Bob Ford and how he transforms from a James groupie into an assassin. Casey Affleck's performance as Ford is an unsettling balance of naivety and creepiness. One always feels that the wheels are turning in Bob's head, thanks to the impressive non-verbal skills of Affleck. He's the under-rated brother and a much better actor than many people realize.