The Assassination of Jesse James

Rating: 8/10 (11 November 2007)

I went to see this movie because of it had Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck, and it is a western movie with great cinematography.
It is a true story is about American legend Jesse James (Brad Pitt) and his new gang member Robert Ford (Casey Affleck), who has idolized Jesse from childhood. There is a sub-plot where Jesse's brother is killed by another gang member and Robert keeps this fact hidden from Jesse, causes doubts and suspicion in the very sharp and neurotic Jesse James  who sees through Robert's lies. This causes a strange bit of relationship between these two characters. Jesse weirdness and swinging moods has such a hold and control over Robert that Robert is scared to death. In one such moment of fear, Robert shoots Jesse and kills him. Robert is honored by government, enacts stage performances of Jesse's killings. Robert is not able to live this life where people around him hate him for killing Jesse. At the end of the movie, Robert is shot by stranger.
Brad Pitt is one of the producers and the movie is directed by Andew Dominik (Chopper fame  again based on a true story assassin). Roger Deakins is the director of photography and has shot the movie with such a heavenly feel that irrespective of anything; a true movie lover can go and sit in this movie for the sheer magic of the image on the BIG screen canvas.
Bard Pitt has acted very well and remains an enigma personified of Jesse James. But I liked Casey Affleck's awkwardness, subtlety, fear psychosis and dilemmas as Robert Ford are superb.
The movie is long, 160 minutes; but the time well worth for getting absorbed into the story and characters. It reminded me of Zodiac. Similarly, this is the sixteenth movie made on Jesse James, and I can assure that the treatment of this movie is amazingly different from any other movie you would have seen of Jesse James.
(Stars 8 out of 10)