The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Plot synopsis:
In 1881, young, starstruck Robert "Bob" Ford (Casey Affleck) seeks out Jesse James (Brad Pitt) when the James gang is planning a train robbery in Blue Cut, Missouri, making unsuccessful attempts to join the gang with the help of his older brother Charley (Sam Rockwell), already a member. The train turns out to be carrying only a fraction of the money originally thought, and Frank James (Sam Shepard) tells Charley Ford that this robbery would be the last the James brothers would commit. Jesse returns home to Kansas City, bringing the Fords, Dick Liddil (Paul Schneider) and his cousin, Wood Hite (Jeremy Renner). Jesse sends Charley, Wood and Dick away, but insists that Bob stay. He wanted the younger man just for his help in moving furniture to a new home in St. Joseph, Missouri. Bob becomes more admiring of James before being sent back to his sister's farmhouse, where he rejoins his brother Charley, Hite, and Liddil.
Liddil reveals to Bob that he is in collusion with another member of the James gang, Jim Cummins, to capture Jesse for a substantial bounty. Meanwhile, Jesse visits another gang member, Ed Miller (Garret Dillahunt), who gives away information on Cummins' plot. Jesse kills Miller, then departs with Liddil to hunt down Cummins. Unable to locate him, Jesse viciously beats Albert Ford (Jesse Frechette), a young cousin of Bob and Charley. Liddil returns to the Boltons' farmhouse, and argues with Hite, which ends with Bob Ford killing Hite. They dump his body in the woods to conceal the murder from Jesse.
Jesse and Charley Ford travel to St. Joseph where Jesse learns of Hite's disappearance, which Charley denies knowing anything about. Meanwhile, Bob goes to Kansas City Police Commissioner Henry Craig (Michael Parks), saying he knows Jesse James' whereabouts. To prove his allegiance with the James gang, Bob urges Craig to arrest Dick Liddil. Following Liddil's arrest and confession to participation in numerous gang robberies, Bob brokers a deal with the Governor of Missouri, Thomas T. Crittenden (James Carville). He is given ten days to capture or kill Jesse James, and promised a substantial bounty and full pardon for murder.
Charley persuades Jesse to take Bob Ford into the gang; the brothers return to St. Joseph. Introduced as cousins to the Howards (the James' pseudonym), they stay with the family, including Zee James (Mary-Louise Parker) and their two children. Jesse wants to revive his gang by robberies with the Fords, beginning with the Platte City bank. On the morning of April 3, 1882, Jesse and the Ford brothers prepare to depart for the robbery. Jesse reads in the newspaper about the arrest and confessions of Liddil. While the three men are in the living room, Jesse removes his gun belt and climbs a chair to clean a dusty picture. Bob shoots Jesse in the back of the head and flees with Charley. They send a telegram to the governor to announce Jesse's death, for which they were to receive $10,000. However, they never receive more than $500 each.
After the murder, the Fords become celebrities, touring with a theatre show in Manhattan in which they re-enact the assassination, but people soon dislike that Bob shot Jesse, unarmed, in the back. Guilt-stricken, Charley writes numerous letters to Zee James asking for her forgiveness, but does not send them. Suffering from terminal tuberculosis, he commits suicide in May 1884. Bob works around the West. On June 8, 1892, Bob is murdered by Edward O'Kelley (Michael Copeman), at his saloon in Creede, Colorado. O'Kelley is sentenced to life in prison, but Colorado Governor James Bradley Orman pardons him after ten years in 1902.

Tags: suspenseful, boring, murder, violence, flashback, philosophical, revenge, storytelling

Review:
Andrew Dominik's The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, is a deliberately paced, stunningly visualized, and emotionally charged exploration of the early development of mass media celebrity in America.
However, instead of the understated, "realistic" performances featured in those films, The Assassination of Jesse Jamesshowcases powerful, yet still realistic performances by an outstanding ensemble cast.Sam Rockwell, as the not-too-bright but well-meaning Charley Ford, and Mary-Louise Parker, as Jesse's loving wife, stand out.
The Assassination of Jesse Jamed by the Coward Robert Ford, is one of the longest titles I've ever seen for a film and the movie's run-time follows the same pattern.
This confusion is often associated with the bi-polar nature of the film's central character, Jesse James, played by none other than Brad Pitt.
I hated Robert Ford for a good portion of the film, thought he was so annoying and clingy that it was a wonder Jesse James didn't kill him within the first day of their complex relationship.
Bob Ford did not quite get the acclaim he would have liked as Jesse James became bigger after death than in life.Frank James as played briefly in the beginning is an odd peripheral character in this film.
But Jesse likes having the kid follow him around like a puppy dog to his ultimate regret.The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is a very good western and we sure don't see too many of them in these times.
From writer/director Andrew Dominik comes the long titled and lengthy timed The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford starring Academy Award nominee Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck.
3:10 to Yuma may well be the big money-making Western of the year, but I think history will recall it as being the year that The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford was released.
"The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" is a handsomely mounted, film-school like study of the last days of the infamous James' Gang by director Andrew Dominik.
Growing up in awe of Jesse James (Brad Pitt), Robert Ford (Casey Affleck) finally gets to live out his dream of living side by side with his idol when his brother, Charles (Sam Rockwell) joins the gang.
This leads to a sometimes snails' pace as the plot unfolds, though the haunting Oscar-worthy cinematography from Roger Deakins and mesmerizing music score from Nick Cave and Warren Ellis eventually get under your skin even as the hands of the clock seem to move slower as if stuck in a pretty photograph of a nightmare.The acting in the film is superb from all involved.
People face their deaths with stoicism, as if this is what fate has dictated for them, as if it is their role to play: the gang member Pitt shoots in the back for real, or imagined betrayal; James himself, who glimpses his assassin in a mirror but makes no attempt to dodge the bullet's path.It will probably be admired most for its performances: Casey Affleck's insinuating, awkward hero-worshipper, at once understandable and pitiable - bullied, insecure, unloved - and at once somewhat contemptible, annoying and disturbing.
The motion picture is well realized by Andrew Dominik who displays enough off-beat touches to keep things interesting.Adding more details over the largely described on the movie, deeds happened of the following way : Later events led disaster on 6 September 1876 in which Jesse(Brad Pitt) and Frank James(Sam Shepard) with three younger Younger brothers attempted a bank robbery at Northfield , Minnesota, only Jesse and Frank got clean away to live quietly for several years under assumed names , Jesse as J.D. Howard and Frank as B.J. Woodson.
Forced by public opinion to leave Missouri , Bob wandered through the old West , taunted by the words of the popular song : ¨The dirty little coward, who was shot Mr Howard, has laid poor Jesse in his grave¨ .Others films about this legendary outlaw are : The classic version (1939) titled ¨Jesse James(1939)¨ with Tyrone Power and Henry Fonda, ¨The return of Frank james(1950) by Fritz Lang with Henry Fonda ; ¨I shot Jesse James¨by Samuel Fuller with John Ireland as Bob Ford ; ¨Jesse James vs the Dalton(1954)¨ by William Castle with John Ireland, ¨The true story of Jesse James¨ by Nicholas Ray with Robert Wagner and Jeffrey Hunter..
The pacing in that scene is deliberate and thought provoking, which will leave you thinking about it long after you see it.Casey Affleck plays the "coward," Robert Ford.
And James' character here is the closest to reality - best since The Long Riders (and that was the best until now, far better than some of the laughable depictions seen in The Outlaw and the like).But with Jesse as one endlessly scary dude, I spent most of the movie waiting for the promised old west justice and wishing I had brought my own six shooter so I could put an end to my misery.
Instead it went to the methodic killer in "No Country for Old Men" and not the reluctant one in Jesse James.Pitt gives one of his finest performances in one of his most challenging films.
Now don't get me wrong, i'm not the type of person who exclusively likes action movies, one of my favorite films is 2001 space odyssey after all ;)."The assassination of Jesse James etc" is probably the film which title corresponds the most to the content.
With its dreamlike landscapes and its delicate piano and violin score, The Assassination of Jesse James owes a clear debt to the early films of Terence Malick (Badlands, Days of Heaven), and there are images here that are among the most beautiful and haunting I have ever seen in a movie.
There are moments when Pitt suggests that Jesse is an enigma even to himself.The outstanding performance comes from Casey Affleck, whose creepy Bob Ford is one of the most original characters ever created for the screen.
Presented at the Venice Film Festival 2007, the second movie directed by New Zealander Andrew Dominik with Brad Pitt did win the Coppa Volpi for best actor prize deserved, considering the extraordinary performance offered by this actor, universally recognized as a pretty face relegated only to petty traders, but instead be able to grapple with expertise in roles far released, and "The Assassination of Jasse James by the Coward Robert Ford" is proof beyond question.
Dominik's movie is striking for introspection and careful definition of the protagonists: the expression of Jasse James/ Brad Pitt is ambiguous and painful, measured and intense, making infer in his eyes a deep existential angst: constant research, perpetually in motion, distrustful and unable to forge human relationships (the size is so high on him as to his throat to many), paranoid and violent, narcissistic universe in which it is confined and in which everyone thinks to safeguard their own safety, just wait the hour of his death.
The Review of The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford by the pseudo-Intellectual Me. Andrew Dominik's "...Jesse James..." is one of the best films I have seen in years.
Every performance in this film is pitch perfect, but Brad Pitt as Jesse James may be one of the best casting decisions in recent memory.
"The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford", written and directed by Andrew Dominik, and starring Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck, is one of the most striking and memorable films I've seen lately.
You can feel the dirt underneath its nails, the water as it runs down its face.The story, based on an (especially then) obscure novel by Rob Hanson, concerns the relationship between the two titular characters: Jesse James (Brad Pitt) and Bob Ford (Casey Affleck).
The supporting roles, played by notable actors such as Sam Rockwell, Mary-Louise Parker, Jeremy Renner, Sam Shepard, Zooey Deschanel, and Michael Parks, round out the cast beautifully.The music, by Australian artists Nick Cave and Warren Ellis (both of them new to film scores) is incredibly beautiful, capturing the folk music spirit of the Old West, and compliments the tone and atmosphere of the film remarkably well.If one forced me to find one criticism of the film, it would be that it's a little too long.
Brad Pitt is very good in the role and Casey Affleck is great at creating a character that you love to hate; a truly breakthrough performance.I keep wanting to call The assassination of Jesse James an "existentialist Western." The only other film that I have given that designation to was El Topo, although the two films have absolutely nothing in common.
The Assassination of Jesse James falls somewhere in the middle, it's a good film by a director whose best work is yet to come.
Andrew Dominik is someone to look out for in the future with his noticeable sophomore release, offering a contemplative, slow-burning alternative to most westerns, guided by some impressive cinematography and airtight production.While much has been made of Casey Affleck's performance as Robert Ford, it really seems to be more about him simply stepping up to play a larger role in general.
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.
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).
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..
As the world may know (or can find out with this and other movies), Robert Ford killed Jesse James, the famous outlaw from the West.
Well, Andrew Dominik's "The Assassination of Jesse James by the coward Robert Ford" (already a bit pretentious, even if it comes from Ron Hansen novel's original title) is a long journey to the 'how', 'when' and 'why' of the fact, giving that we know the who.
I thought he was right up there with Pitt and Affleck.I might be in the minority with this opinion, but I found the best part of the film to be the last 20 minutes, depicting how America reacted to the killing of Jesse James and what happened to the Ford brothers.
Here Bob Ford, the delusional, James worshiping sidekick attempts to inveigle his way into the good graces of Frank (played with a fine stoic, resignation by Sam Shepard) who will have none of it.Casey Affleck's speech and tick affected Ford is interesting for the first half hour of the film before he becomes downright annoying for the rest of it.
Andrew Dominik's second directorial effort is a character and dialogue driven piece of work, its thematic heart swirling with intelligence and elegiac beauty.The story centrers around the final days of notorious outlaw Jesse James, and how one of his young disciples came to murder him on April 3rd 1882.
It's incredible to think that this is only director Andrew Dominik's second feature film, following on from the hugely enjoyable Chopper in 2000, it is now evident that New Zealand can lay claim to producing a talent that if all goes to plan, will go on to become a director to rank up with the best of them.As it is, and just right now, The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford should be filed along side Vertigo as a member of that club that only admits the greatest American films of all time, and that be even if it was directed by a Kiwi, wink wink America.Masterpiece 10/10..
Simply put, I thought that "The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford" was a cracking piece of work.
There is nothing in those films that could prepare you for his work in "The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford".
Here you will find a film that goes beyond its duties to tell a story, from the dialogue to the different tones, be prepared to go on an epic journey on this tale of the assassination of one of the greatest outlaws in US history.Brad Pitt gives an Oscar worthy performance as Jesse James, and Casey Affleck gives a haunting performance as Robert Ford.
The reason is the quality in the tale  the narrative, the characters and the themes all come together to produce a film of quiet interest.I am not doing it justice in my description but the main story, taken at face value is an engaging story of the later life and fate of Jesse James, in particular his interactions with Robert Ford.
I think there are certain actors that should reconsider their choice of a career in acting, the first that comes to mind, anybody with the last name of Affleck, Casey's whiney voice is enough to turn off the film, the second, Colin Ferrel, the third, Brad Pitt.
Casey Affleck is a very talented actor and he sure gives a very good performance in this film, much better than Pitt, in my humble opinion.Also, Nick Cave was a very nice surprise.But this must be the most boring movie that I've ever seen.
No, I gave it minimum because of those who voted 10/10 only because Brad Pitt plays in this movie, or those who like Jesse James or western stories and that's why I was so angry.
Some of said the title says it all in this case, but nothing could be further from the truth.Casey Affleck steals the show in his portrayal of Robert Ford, the young man who idolized, then feared, and finally assassinated Jesse James.
I don't doubt that Casey Affleck, and perhaps even Brad Pitt, are doing a very good job; but I would never recommend this film, as art, history, psychodrama, western or entertainment.
The big difference is perhaps the voice over in "Jesse James...", a narrator that works almost like an historian and brings us closer to the characters and their inner feelings.Brad Pitt has good leading role  the best in the last years  looking a matured actor, and Casey Affleck has the first big opportunity to show what he's got  and he delivers..
I thought Brad Pitt would put more energy into the role of the famous outlaw Jesse James, but he comes across as dry as the rest of the movie.
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is not only one of my favorite movie titles of all time.
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is one of the most thought-provoking films I've seen in a very long time.
This is not a movie about Jesse James, instead, it is a drama that explores Robert Ford's relationship with Jesse before the assassination and the fallout that comes from it.One thing is for certain, this isn't your fathers type of western.
Brad Pitt as Jesse James was the most real then real characters as if he was born to play the role and Casey Affleck's (Bob Ford) performance was unbelievably second to none.
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is a film for the ages.
The third-person narration, becoming so rare in contemporary films, gives the effect of the audience observing the real goings on of Jesse James and Robert Ford.
Frank and Jesse are the last two remaining original members.Andrew Dominik films a beautiful looking movie but his script runs on and on.
If you enjoy artists at the peak of their powers, Andrew Dominik's The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is a film you MUST see..
After going through a recent obsession of classic westerns, something odd nowadays for a teenager apparently, I bought The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford thinking it would be a nostalgic homage to western films of old like the brilliant Unforgiven.
Casey Affleck defies his brother's reputation for abysmal acting talent (sorry but it's true) by pulling off a stellar performance as the creepy but likable character Robert Ford and Brad Pitt has one of his best performances as the troubled Jesse James.
Anyone who enjoys films and wants to see some career best performances should definitely make the time to watch this brilliant movie..
I wasn't expecting much in the way of the entertainment factor when going into this film, considering its run time, however the performances of all the actors, namely Pitt, Affleck and Rockwell, assure that the pacing can be viewed as relevant to the character development.
The poetical narration adds to the biographical style the movie feels like.Put in a beautiful, yet unsettling score, some beautiful uses of cinematography and you have yourself a brilliant film.The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford= 9.4.
But in this film, Casey Affleck is better than Brad Pitt and deserves that Academy Award nomination.Overall, this is a fun movie to watch.
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.