A wasted opportunity

Rating: 1/10 (3 October 2010)

1. The film has a good, quite authentic look to it - at least as far as props, costumes, sets, etc. The sound of the old, wood-frame houses was right on. The landscapes are obviously not where they are supposed to be, but that follows an old tradition in Westerns. Canadian locations have become very identifiable & are obviously not Missouri nor any adjoining states.
2. Brad Pitt made a good Jesse James. I know Jesse's photos quite well & was able to forget them. Mr. Pitt did his best to be enigmatic - I don't know if that was intentional in his portrayal of Jesse or simply because he didn't know how else he could carry on through this script.
3. The rest of the cast did as well as they could. Sam Shepherd seemed a bit old for Frank James, but then I always thought that Frank looked old for his age in the few photos that exist.
4. Now for the bad part - it is as slow moving as molasses in winter.
5. Almost every film that has extensive voice-over explanations has had post-production problems. When it's all been put together, they've found that the explanations are needed, because the film had become a muddle.
Having been a professional genealogist who has researched Jesse Woodson James & family & who has worked with celebrities, I understand what they were trying to do with this. In an oblique way they were using Bob Ford as "stalker" ... as well as exploring Jesse's emotional-mental issues (which included drug use) & the various family connections that that are often neglected. It is rare that any film for popular consumption has mentioned the murder of Jesse's favorite cousin, Woodson Hite, by the Fords. It also often goes unmentioned that there was a lot of blood relationship amongst these various outlaw clans. Therefore, there were family issues, as well as the historical background that is more commonly known.
I commend them for the attempt, but such an exploration was perhaps better left to print. Despite knowing most of the story already, I found it almost impossible to follow. Perhaps, the problem was that it simply could not retain my interest enough to follow it. Sometimes, a work that is very literary, with lots of explanation & internal action, but little real physical action, can be impossible to transpose to film. I suspect that is what happened.
I really wanted to like this film, but sad to say, I didn't. Perhaps one day a mini-series will do justice to the complexity of these people & their era & will still manage to be entertaining.