Art!

Rating: 8/10 (17 April 2008)

This one's a bit of an odd one for me: is it Art or Fart? It seems to divide opinions up the middle; me, I'm in the middle  I liked it to a point but much prefer Tyrone Power's admittedly unrealistic take on Jesse James from 1940. Which means I'm probably going to get brickbats thrown at me from both sides of the fence. To me, nearly all modern films aim or pretend to be Art, and you can't argue this has some beautiful photography realistic plotting and natural acting. Life in general usually has no great plot, why should a movie always need a completely cohesive one - refer to the classic Dersu Uzala by Kurosawa for a masterclass of languid plotting. What we're watching is still a fantasy: none of us were there in 1882 to know better. And all people are ordinary people unless they're hyped up into special people by media or gossip, so if James really was a charmless monosyllable psycho well done to the team for trying to portray him that way.
Unknown slimy adolescent idolises renowned violent baddie, worms his way into his confidence and eventually becomes Someone by shooting him in the back. Looking into the dusty picture at that momentous moment did James really want someone to put him out of his misery or was that just guesswork? Pitt and Affleck play the duo locked in time and make this tick, Pitt playing Pitt with a cigar this time, and Affleck the uptight Coward speaking like Stepin Fetchit used to, no one else matters much apart from in the tension of wondering who's going to get shot next. There's hardly any crudity, sex or violence which is probably off-putting for a lot of todays audience used to it who maybe can't do it without it anymore, but to me there's still too much because what's there is all gratuitous. Favourite bits: the gang waiting in the woods to rob the train at night; the few times anyone laughed or smiled  life was tedious sure, but human beings will always find good hearted humour anywhere; nice attention to period detail, manners and speaking idioms, although so cleverly made not over required; the aftermath and taking the Ford show on the road.
Why not simply view this as a useful appendix to Ken Burns' still staggering American Civil War TV series? It's the most stunning modern film I've seen for years - then again, I don't get to see many! Imho well made, thoughtful, colourful, cogent, courageous and I didn't look at the clock once to see how much longer I had to go. Based on that yardstick I wouldn't mind seeing the 4 hour version ... only not just yet. But  give me Tyrone Power any day!