Story behind to story of Jesse James and his death.

Rating: Null/10 (6 February 2008)

I grew up in the 1950s and in movies saw the "romanticized" view of Jesse James, but never really knew anything about him. This movie portrays the gritty every day of Jesse James' last years, starting when he was a "middle-aged" 34 and with a wife and two children.
Brad Pitt is Jesse James, portrayed as suspicious of all his "sidekicks" and quick to dispose of someone who he knew or suspected might turn on him. They would be told "we are going to take a ride" and the other person never came back. Brad Pitt is superb in this role.
Mary-Louise Parker is good in a small role as his wife, Zee James.
The other main character is Casey Affleck as "that coward" Robert Ford, and Affleck is also superb in this role. About 15 years younger than Jesse, we learn that Robert grew up idolizing him and as a 19-year-old desperately wanted to join the James brothers, first approaching Frank James (Sam Shepard), and finally getting in with Jesse.
Sam Rockwell is also good as Robert's older brother Charley Ford.
I enjoyed this movie, although a bit long at about 2 1/2 hours, because it looked intensely at the characters, not the criminal activities. I feel like for the first time I understand a bit about the real Jesse James and what a fragile existence the criminals of that day led.
SPOILERS. As time passed Robert Ford became more and more unhappy with Jesse, and in the end arranged, along with his brother, to have Jesse turned in. However, in Jesse's own home, as he was on a stool dusting a framed picture on the wall, Robert Ford shot him from behind, killing him. Robert went on to to perhaps 800 stage performances re-enacting how he killed Jesse James, but in the end someone shot and killed Ford.