The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
classified 15Please note: This was screened in Feb 2016
This slow-burning, but gripping and meticulously observed picture about the 1882 murder of legendary outlaw Jesse James marked a high point for the modern western in its tremendously stylish, intelligent retelling of the archetypal western myth.
Of all the movies made about the 19th century outlaw Jesse Woodson James, Andrew Dominik’s 2007 feature starring Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck is the most reflective, most ambitious, and indisputably the most beautiful. Based on the Ron Hansen novel of the same name it picks up the notorious outlaw late in his career, on Sep 5, 1881, just a few hours before his final train robbery. After this spectacularly staged heist job, Jesse’s oldest surviving brother, Frank (Sam Shepard), calls it quits and disappears back East, leaving Jesse (Pitt) to continue with the help of dubious lowlifes such as the Ford boys. When, having idolised Jesse James all through his young life, Robert Ford (Affleck) - whose wimpy demeanor, unemphatic voice and irritatingly servile manner mark him as a singularly unpromising gang member - joins Jesse’s gang it’s not long before he finds himself getting resentful towards his hero. And what of Jesse himself and his own motivations that mean he seemingly can’t quite bring himself to get rid of Bob - apparently both appalled and amused by the film’s central question. “You want to be like me, or you want to be me?”
Perhaps the film’s real star however was cinematographer Roger Deakins, who’s subdued palette of parched-plains and earth tones he captured with an extraordinary luminosity and delicacy. Few westerns have conveyed so tangibly the bleakness and austerity of the spaces these frontiersmen called home, which alongside terrific performances and an achingly beautiful score by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, made the overworked ground of a Western outlaw legend feel fertile once again.