A poor man's Terrence Malick.

Rating: 4/10 (13 November 2019)

I had wanted to see this movie since it came out in 2007. Unfortunately, the wait was NOT worth it. This movie has had mostly glowing reviews, and in some cases people list it as one of the best "Westerns" ever. It is certainly "artsy", like a poor man's Terrence Malick. The character development is sorely missing for one thing. We don't get to hear or see why Jesse was they way he was. Instead we get a "legend" version of Jesse, as a glorified sociopath. Revisionist Westerns like this, are so untruthful and put criminals/sociopaths on pedestals. Like the song about Jesse says, "he stole from the rich and gave to the poor", which was total malarky. I didn't believe Pitt was Jesse for one moment. Perhaps a much better actor could have made the movie more impactful. Casey "blunt" Affleck was not much better. The supporting cast, however, did deliver good performances. The movie was painfully slow and lacked any kind of depth. The only good aspect of the film, is that it had an authentic look. But,Terrence Malik does artsy/authentic much better. To summarize, a "handsome", but overly long, tedious movie with characters you could care less about. If you want to see an excellent, authentic period piece about outlaws and lawmen, watch "The Highwaymen" with Woody Harrelson and Kevin Costner on Netflix.