The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford





Director - Andrew Dominik

Genre - Biography/Crime/Drama/Western



Casey Affleck shines in this gracefully tragic western. Creepy, awkward and painfully insecure, his role as the man who murders Jesse James is enthralling. He's like the kid in school we never want to sit with. Brad Pitt is perfect as the legendary outlaw too. The cinematography by Roger Deakins who also shot 'No Country For Old Men' is beautiful and really classic looking. Almost every scene looks like an oil painting come to life.

4.5 STARS!

All about The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Comments

Anonymous said…
Loved this film. Can you believe Casey Affleck was considered a supporting role in that film. The academy smokes crack!
Joel Bocko said…
Colleeny,
I think the studio usually makes those decisions. They probably wanted to push Affleck as supporting because they thought his chances would be better there. Though in the year of Daniel Day-Lewis and Javier Bardem, he probably didn't have a chance in either category.

My thoughts on the film can be gleaned from one of my very first blog posts:

http://thedancingimage.blogspot.com/2008/07/assassination-of-jesse-james-by-coward.html
thebonebreaker said…
Good to know!
I will have to check this one out.

Thanks for the Review!

J
calcutec81 said…
THANK YOU!
Seriously...thank you. This film was so unbelievably underrated. I didn't even know it existed until I stumbled upon it at the rental shop. This movie got no attention at all, it seems. I loved it. I think it is one of Brad Pitt's best performances. Right up there with "12 Monkeys" or "Seven Years in Tibet." I usually don't like Westerns at all, but this movie completely redefined the genre for me. Although, I suppose that it's less a Western as much as a biopic set in the old west. Whatever the case. Good rating. Good review. Good work. Thanks for giving this film much deserved attention.
This film definitely has that same bleak look as No Country for Old Men. the paces is similar too. Great film though.
This one is more sentimental though. No Country for Old Men doesn’t have time for that. It has a mean streak which won't let up. We feel that No Country for Old Men is more similar in nature to There Will Be Blood.