Great title, great movie

Rating: 9/10 (14 October 2007)

I just had to see this movie, because I love that title  labeling one of the two lead characters as a "Coward" before one even sees the film. (Although they don't show the title until the end, which is a trend now that REALLY annoys me. Everyone thinks they're remaking "Apocalypse Now", evidently.) Yes, it's long and slowly paced, but I was never bored; the languid pace helped to draw me into the details of the acting, the dialogue, the production design. It was nice to see a period film that paid attention to the natural rhythms of the time, and not filled with fast cuts and in-your-face editing to keep fanboys and teenyboppers with short attention spans interested. Reminded me of another long, slow, gorgeous masterpiece: Stanley Kubrick's "Barry Lyndon."
Brad Pitt is creepily intense as Jesse James, the best performance I've ever seen from him, but he is outshone by Casey Affleck, who is mesmerizing with every twitch of his eyes and every quiver in his voice. He deserves a Best Actor nomination more than Pitt. Sam Rockwell is also outstanding, as is the cinematography by the always awesome Roger Deakins, and the haunting score by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis. (Loved Cave's cameo as the saloon singer, too.) And though some may carp about the voice-over narration, I thought it was excellent, just the right amount throughout. My only other minor carp is with the Canadian locations, some of which were way too far from real Missouri landscapes. (In the scene with Pitt and Rockwell at the frozen lake, snow-capped Rockies behind them, I heard someone near me say, "Which part of Missouri is that?" The narration mentions Colorado in passing at the end of the scene, but it sounded like a quick justification for the backdrop.) Also, I loved the ending, Robert Ford's character needed to be played to its conclusion, and NOT end at the killing of Jesse James, as others have suggested.
Overall, well worth my time and money, and I can't wait to own the DVD. And for those who wanted to see more of Jesse James's robbin' and killin' life prior to the events of this film, check out Walter Hill's "The Long Riders".