Strangely enough, one of the most poetic Westerns to ever be made

Rating: 10/10 (17 February 2008)

The Assassination Of Jesse James is possibly not only one of the finest films to have come out in 2007, but also one of the best westerns ever made. Yes, I agree with some of the views in here that you don't necessarily expect a western to quite turn out to be the way this one does and thats something I found myself immensely attracted to. This film has layers westerns have rarely achieved (the exception being Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven) and you could almost find yourself falling in love with the pain that some of the characters are hoping to come away from, in an almost poetic sort of way.
Be it in the characterization (an excellent adaptation I must say) or the way the music, dialogues, and the cinematography have been used to bring to life a book onto the big screen, every single thing falls into place and How! Couldn't quite have been possible without the stellar cast lead by the two protagonists Jesse James (Brad Pitt) and Robert Ford (Casey Affleck). An exuberant portrayal of Jesse by Brad would surely count as one of his best so far (Along with Snatch and Babel) and a brilliantly effortless debut by the younger brother of an almost spent force (almost, if it wasn't for Gone Baby Gone) - Casey Affleck are without a doubt the greatest highlights of this film. Together as well as individually their's is a performance that has the power of almost bringing tears to your eyes and a heaviness into your heart you may have seldom felt before. Kudos to the director Andrew Dominik for bringing onto the cinematic world a brilliant gentlemen for whom the word 'sink' could only be in reference to a role, with his teeth thrown in.
Do yourselves a favour folks, watch the Assassination of Jesse James today, and wait even after 'the moment' is over for another 20-30 odd minutes of drama so riveting, you could hardly blame yourselves for believing that the title was a dead giveaway.