I love when I find a movie that I'm not all that enthusiastic to watch and I wind up completely enjoying it. "The Assassination of Jessie James by The Coward John Ford" is a huge film title to swallow. It is also a fitting name. This film is big on screen, runs a long time (160 minutes) and feels like a long but satisfying piece of literature.
In short this is the story of Jessie James gang and the man, Robert Ford, who eventually kills Jessie James. This is not a wild shoot out Western Movie actually there are no gunfights at all though there are a few, brief periods of gun violence.
This film separates itself from the classic "cowboys and Indians" as it is very dialog driven and psychological. There is little action. There is plenty of suspense but the suspense is slow, lyrical and brooding. No cliff hanger scenes are needed. What would seem as seemingly benign stories and slow rides along country side roads among the characters would seem harmless taken out of context. For audience members, though, these scenes carry a lot of psychological suspense.
Casey Affleck is perfectly cast as the assassin Robert Ford. He is convincing as a hopelessly awkward man who is obsessed with James and being more like him.
Brad Pitt is great as always. James is portrayed as an immensely complex man. Pitt embodies James flawlessly as tender, murderous, intelligent, contemplative, manipulative, loving and omnipotent at time. It is a remarkable performance.
I can not tell if you if "The Assassination of Jessie James by The Coward John Ford" is historically accurate or not, but it feels like work of historical fiction. Have you ever read a long, long story and found yourself sad to see it end when you closed the cover. This was that kind of film.
Great stuff. Check it out.
For More information or to watch this film, click the image below
In short this is the story of Jessie James gang and the man, Robert Ford, who eventually kills Jessie James. This is not a wild shoot out Western Movie actually there are no gunfights at all though there are a few, brief periods of gun violence.
This film separates itself from the classic "cowboys and Indians" as it is very dialog driven and psychological. There is little action. There is plenty of suspense but the suspense is slow, lyrical and brooding. No cliff hanger scenes are needed. What would seem as seemingly benign stories and slow rides along country side roads among the characters would seem harmless taken out of context. For audience members, though, these scenes carry a lot of psychological suspense.
Casey Affleck is perfectly cast as the assassin Robert Ford. He is convincing as a hopelessly awkward man who is obsessed with James and being more like him.
Brad Pitt is great as always. James is portrayed as an immensely complex man. Pitt embodies James flawlessly as tender, murderous, intelligent, contemplative, manipulative, loving and omnipotent at time. It is a remarkable performance.
I can not tell if you if "The Assassination of Jessie James by The Coward John Ford" is historically accurate or not, but it feels like work of historical fiction. Have you ever read a long, long story and found yourself sad to see it end when you closed the cover. This was that kind of film.
Great stuff. Check it out.
For More information or to watch this film, click the image below
If you have a minute check out another one of my reviews. This film received a lot of critical acclaim but is it right for you? Beasts of Southern Wild Review
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