The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Rating: 7/10 (30 December 2011)

This is certainly a well-crafted film. The cinematography by Roger Deakins is beautiful, as is Nick Cave's score. Brad Pitt captivates as always, and the other main performances (Casey Affleck, Sam Rockwell, Jeremy Renner, Paul Schneider) are all quite accomplished as well. The personalities of James (charming but dangerous) and Ford (hero-worshipping, meek, eager for recognition) make a compelling contrast. The movie engages your attention despite its slow pace, and is a fairly interesting deconstruction of Western mythology. But I had a couple of problems with it. The narration is delivered poorly, and often insults the audience by spelling things out too plainly. More troublesome is the air of self-importance that hangs over everything. Dominik strives for a Malick-ian aesthetic but lacks the emotional and philosophical content to back it up. I tend to appreciate an elegiac tone, but I often wondered what purpose it was serving. It felt overdone to me, as if I was being cajoled into recognizing a profundity that wasn't there. It needed to back off just a bit. I did generally enjoy the experience, however.