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The
Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward
Robert Ford
Genre: Action/Drama/Western
Rated: R
Directed
by: Andrew Dominik
Starring: Brad
Pitt, Casey Affleck, Mary-Louise Parker, Sam Shepard, Paul Schneider
Released by: Warner Bros.
Pictures
In
Short: The languid pace of this internally-driven
Western will sadly put most viewers to sleep
by the time Jesse James finally gets it in
the back, shot by the “coward” Robert
Ford. |
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A
Painfully Slow Death
Just
Shoot Him Already!
In case
you have never heard of Jesse James, the title of Brad
Pitt’s take on that legendary Western outlaw
says it all. “The Assassination of Jesse James
by the Coward Robert Ford” follows the tale of
James’ last days, after he and his brother Frank
had become the men of legend in post-Civil War America.
It’s a story that has been told on film countless
times before; in fact, Jesse James, Jr., himself starred
in two silent movies playing his famous father way back
in 1921.
In
this version, the year is 1881 and James is 34 years
old. And that’s where the trouble begins with this
languidly-paced look at the train-and-bank robber’s
last days. For as good-looking as Brad Pitt remains,
his 43-year-old visage isn’t remotely believable
as a man of 34. Nor is his supposedly nineteen-year-old
nemesis Robert Ford; played by 32-year-old Casey Affleck,
there’s not a whit of youthfulness about him, despite
his creepy performance. Even worse is the ridiculous
casting of 63-year-old Sam Shepard as Jesse’s brother,
Frank, who in real life is only four years older. It
is hard to suspend one’s disbelief and accept that
these men on the screen are the same outlaws who created
the legends we all learned about as children.
Add
into the mix the deliberate, often slogging pace of
the piece, the washed-out color palette (that seemingly
mimics old-time photographs), the spare dialogue and
a close to three-hour running time, and the result is
a yawn-inducing experience that is not saved by Pitt’s
well-acted take on the outlaw’s skid into paranoia
and depression.
To
make matters worse, once Ford has finally, thankfully,
gunned down James, the story is still not over, plodding
on for another ten minutes to inform us of the assassin’s
life after killing the famous outlaw. The saddest thing
of all about this film is that it is actually an interesting
story overall; but not as presented in this painfully
dull sophomore effort of Kiwi director Andrew Dominik,
whose first film “Chopper” helped make Eric
Bana a star. 
PNJ092007 |
(Updated
09/21/07 NJ) |
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