Arguably The Most Underrated Movie Ever

Rating: 9/10 (1 January 2012)

The background of every outdoor shot, is incredible, the sky, the crops the grass, the snow !! Every outdoor shot is like a beautiful painting in motion.Its the most vivid and alive cinematography I remember in any movie. Most movies that have great cinematography tend to make things dark and lean towards noir, but in this movie I found the cinematography to be exactly the opposite, and far from making things dark and dull, the screen just seems so alive. This was the first thing that struck me about this movie and drew me in.
The movie is one of the most comprehensive studies, of how the fear of a man can paralyse people, and how fear can make a man seem invincible to another, and how that fear will often lead us to greatly over estimate the situation and the danger present, and how that fear will lead us to take drastic steps. Brad Pitt as Jesse James is inspiring, and very believable as the feared Jesse James.
Jesse James is a bandit, robber whatever you might wanna call him, that the people are afraid of, who chooses to justify his robberies in the name of the civil war, and is a hero to all those who are on the same side of the war as him. He has a demigod status among his followers and band members, and they say you can never sneak up on Jesse James, and you can, never betray him, for, no one knows how, but Jesse is always wise to every police party that has ever turned up at his door to arrest him, or of any gang member who has even thought of betraying him. There are kids that have grown up reading about his stories. One such kid is Robert Ford, who has a whole collection of things related to Jesse James and is encyclopedia on the man. He is a meek kid, who has been bullied all his life, and who, to use a very clichéd line, has been nobody all his life. He has only ever had one dream that of being Jesse James. During one of the conversations, Jesse James in fact clearly asks him "Do you want to be LIKE me, or do you want to BE me." One day, with the help of his elder brother, gets to join Jesse James' gang and rob a train, and after the job is done, Jesse James, whose main crew has either retired or in jail, takes Robert Ford in his gang. Robert Ford is of course delighted, and tries to impress Jesse James all the time including with flattery. Jesse James realises that he has some kind of control over Robert Ford, and he uses him for rather unconventional chores, like carrying his stuff while shifting house, among other things. Jesse James at times finds Robert Ford to be queer and well weird. Robert Ford is subject to ridicule constantly from every member of the gang, and at times from Jesse James himself.
Jesse James being one of the most, renowned criminals of his time has a huge bounty on his, and so some gang members are plotting to turn him in, and take the bounty himself. Then comes the moment, when the hero, who has been worshiped for so long falls from grace. Jesse James, at one mission opts to take Robert Ford's brother, instead of Robert Ford with him, and Robert Ford can't take it anymore. In his fury, and desire for fame, a desire for renown which ever bullied kid has in him, he does something drastic, and that forces him to live in constant fear of Jesse James, and he is worried, that if Jesse James finds out what he has done he will be killed, and a part of him tells him that Jesse James already knows.
This fear paralyses him. Jesse asks Robert Ford and Robert Ford's brother, to join him on a trip to rob a bank, and they stay at Jesse's House for a day or two. It is here that things reach a boiling point, and it is a great study in human nature and drama, of how fear can drive someone to take drastic steps out of imagined danger.
Brad Pitt as Jesse James, is exactly what the character should be, and in every scene he is in, you know he is in control of the situation. It is however, Cassey Affleck, who steals the show as the lost, self doubting, scared, self confidence lacking Robert Ford. His performance deserved more recognition than just the academy award nomination that he got for the role. I had seen Cassey Affleck in Gone Baby Gone, and found him to be superb, but as Robert Ford, I think it is one of the most memorable performances of the decade by an actor. The rest of the cast also turn in top level performances.
The movie is a very deep study in character development, and human drama, and human nature. Some might find the pacing in the movie slow, so its not a movie for everyone. If the pacing in Shawshank Redemption and Schindler's List was alright for you, then you will not find this movie's pacing any problem. Any good story needs time to tell its story, and this movie is no different. Another word of caution is that some may have the misconception that this is a typical spaghetti western, with lots of fast gun drawing action, and shooting. Its not, its nothing like a spaghetti western, and if you into the movie expecting a lot of gunfire on screen then you will be disappointed. This movie has little mindless action, and focuses entirely on the human aspects, and is a great study in human nature.
All in all, I think without doubt that this is one of the most underrated movies of all time.