Review -- The Assasination of Jessie James by the Coward Robert Ford
During my journey to the Motherland, I watched The Assasination of Jessie James by the Coward Robert Ford.
The movie is a long-winded as the title implies. Overall it was a good movie that needed someone to make tough editing decisions. The film was 2:40 and easily should have been 2:15. It felt like the film would never end. The movie would change scenes without a clue as to where they were in time or location. I also think they could have done a little better job developing the Jessie James character. Brad Pitt was good as Jessie James, but it seemed like they couldn't decide if James was a supporting character or one of the main characters. Casey Affleck played the part of the Coward Robert Ford. He played the insecure hero worshiper role quite well. The film was shot in Alberta where the scenery was used nicely by the cinemetographer. The tone of the film definatly isn't happy. It almost seems like they are trying to say you shouldn't put too much faith in one man. It's better to see your heros from 10-yards away than close-up. I really want to like this film and tell people to see it. I have this thing against movies that try and end more than two times. I could of sworn it was going to end about three or four different times. I'll put it this way, if you like Oscar-nominated films, see The Assasination of Jessie James by the Coward Robert Ford. The movie has me wanting to read the book now. I'm now curious about the historical accuracy of the book and the film, especially after seeing Young Guns!
Although I may have liked the movie more if they had a little Bon Jovi during the credits.
The movie is a long-winded as the title implies. Overall it was a good movie that needed someone to make tough editing decisions. The film was 2:40 and easily should have been 2:15. It felt like the film would never end. The movie would change scenes without a clue as to where they were in time or location. I also think they could have done a little better job developing the Jessie James character. Brad Pitt was good as Jessie James, but it seemed like they couldn't decide if James was a supporting character or one of the main characters. Casey Affleck played the part of the Coward Robert Ford. He played the insecure hero worshiper role quite well. The film was shot in Alberta where the scenery was used nicely by the cinemetographer. The tone of the film definatly isn't happy. It almost seems like they are trying to say you shouldn't put too much faith in one man. It's better to see your heros from 10-yards away than close-up. I really want to like this film and tell people to see it. I have this thing against movies that try and end more than two times. I could of sworn it was going to end about three or four different times. I'll put it this way, if you like Oscar-nominated films, see The Assasination of Jessie James by the Coward Robert Ford. The movie has me wanting to read the book now. I'm now curious about the historical accuracy of the book and the film, especially after seeing Young Guns!
Although I may have liked the movie more if they had a little Bon Jovi during the credits.
Labels: Assasination of Jessie James by the Coward Robert Ford, Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Fort Meade Era, Motherland Road Trip, Road Trip
posted by Adam @ 14:41
3 comments
3 Comments:
There's always Indiana.... Monday night perhaps?
It was a reel (real) person! http://www.strangecultureblog.com/2007/04/reel-people-brad-pitt-is-jesse-james.html
I really liked this movie, but like you have a hesitancy in recommending it...partially for it's pacing and length.
It has such a unique tone...almost like how in Altman films where you can't hear what everyone's saying and you're not really sure if it matters.
Casey Affleck of course is incredible, and I know exactly what you're saying about having that sense of "who's the main character."
I liked the fact that Jessie was really only portrayed from the perspective of how Robert Ford saw him.
My problem with only showing Jessie James from the Robert Ford perspective is that we learned about some of Jessie from outside of Robert Ford. For example, the stories where Jessie takes some of the gang on "a ride." The narrator also gives us information about Jessie that Robert Ford wouldn't know.
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