Strong characterisation and acting, weak plot

Rating: 6/10 (5 July 2015)

There's much to like in Andrew Dominik's film, 'The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford': most of all, it truly is a psychological western. Brad Pitt is excellent as Jesse, a murderous but charismatic bully, fully aware of his own magnetism and ability to inspire terror; while a group of misfits gather around him, bound to him through fear, envy, idolisation and daydreams. But somehow the plot doesn't quite work: Jesse seems to rightly distrust his acolytes, yet nonetheless, leaves his fate in their hands. The movie's solemn narration (not to mention its title) gives away the plot; while the broader context (the aftermath of the American civil war, which goes a long way to explaining James' status as a folk hero) is passed over. Ultimately, it's a lengthy movie, in which not enough happens that is not foreseeable from the earliest scenes.