An epic masterpiece. Thoughtful, philosophical and profoundly existential

Rating: 9/10 (14 December 2007)

With a title almost as long as the 160-movie it names, regular movie-goers might be forgiven for thinking that The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford is worth a miss. Too, even, that a title basically giving away the central hub of the film's plot makes it hard for studio execs to sell the film as a sassy, gun-toting western with shlocky shoot-em-ups and angel eyes Brad Pitt darling it up in the lead role. This was all many were expecting after several re-edits, one being a but-numbing 3½ hour cut, were made to a film that actually wrapped up filming in 2005. But what Chopper director Andrew Dominik has delivered, in only his second film, is an beautiful, epic, meditative poem of a western, that once again transforms the genre, once such a stable for conservative normality, by dissecting the myths that created it.
Brad Pitt is uber-outlaw Jesse James, co-founder of the James-Younger gang, primarily specialising in train robberies. Casey Affleck is Robert Ford, a clumsy, awkward upstart, who is entranced by Jesse James to the point of obsession. He views him like a celebrity, studying his life, his robberies, his voice and even his mannerisms. He is so entranced that at one point whilst attempting to engage his idol in a conversation during one of James' tin bath sessions, James very coldly utters to Ford "Do you want to be like me? Or do you wanna be me?".
Ford is constantly teased by his fellow thieves and gunmen, taunted for his love and idolisation of the gang ringleader. As the title suggests (or rather gives away), it leads to a tragic conclusion, a conclusion revealed so that the whole film may operate on a level far more complex than mere formulaic convention. Since we know the fate of the hero, it is not about where the journey ends, or indeed how it ends. But rather what the journey is, and how the characters deal with it. James seems to flirt with the idea of death, having been rendered a stalinesque paranoia-case after losing faith in all of his gang members. Towards the end of the film, he relies only on the help of the Ford brothers Charlie and Robert, not being able to trust any one else. He would be proved right, when Robert is the one to pull the trigger.
The Assassination of Jesse James is a majestic western. It is beautifully shot in a way that doesn't just please the eye, but utterly renders both the icy mood and bitterly cold temperature of the film it colours. The acting is first rate, with Brad Pitt playing the cold psychopath that is Jesse James with a subtle viciousness beneath his icy blue eyes. But Casey Affleck is the man who walks away with the film. Every scene he is in, he steals. His Robert Ford is brilliantly balanced between the enthusiastically enthralled and gawkish pathos. His obsession with James is understandable, given the legend of the outlaw that has spun a million myths in its wake, but it is reminiscent, at least to a modern audience, of a Mark Chapman  the man who shot John Lennon. In fact one of the many themes running throughout Andrew Dominik's film is that of the obsession with a myth. He is known as the "coward" but is it to be a coward? Ford idolises James like many people do modern celebrities. When James reveals his spiteful and altogether psychotic edge to Ford, the myth is dispelled, and everything Ford had invested in him becomes crushed. All Ford could do to redeem himself, he felt, would be to kill James, and end the charade. But alas, all that did was strengthen the legend further.
Perhaps in another world, it would be pleasant to know that The Assassination of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford gets all the credit it deserves, but it appears to have split many people up the middle. Some people think it is pretentious, and write sniffy articles about the film's languidness. Others think it is too long and obscure. I am at the point now when it really doesn't matter when dealing with a film of this magnitude, because it was a profoundly affecting experience, one reminiscent of the beautiful epics Terrence Malick used to make. If you find a better film this year, I would very surprised.