A Great Revisionis Western

Rating: 9/10 (14 August 2008)

Like all of the great westerns since John Ford this is a film about western films as much as the west itself. Long and leisurely, by the time it starts Jesse James is already part of a mythological west being sold to impressionable young men like Robert Ford. Ford gets close to the myth and becomes part of it himself. Starting brilliantly with a train robbery the film proceeds to deconstruct the myth and in doing so takes it's place alongside "Unforgiven" and "The Wild Bunch". Brad Pitt has never been better than as Jesse James, he remains a mystery somewhere between an outlaw and family man. Acting honours go to Casey Affleck, just as in "Gone Baby Gone" he shows how effective quiet acting can be. Beautifully shot and scored. This is up there with "No Country For Old Men" as the best US cinema had to offer in 2007.