The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Director: Andrew Dominik
Cast: Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Sam Rockwell
Running time: 160 minutes

Plot: Jesse James (Pitt) has mostly retired from his outlaw ways, with the members of his gang either dead, in gaol, or alienated by his increasing paranoia and unpredictability. Robert Ford (Affleck), obsessed with James from his youth, manages to inveigle his way into the gang and his hero’s confidence. Later, having been arrested for the murder of Wood Hite, Ford negotiates a Governor’s pardon in return for killing James.

A Western with a high-profile star and a green director, filmed in 2005 and originally slated for release in 2006, Jesse James was showing good form early for this year’s Razzies. You might well have assumed that Australian Andrew "Chopper" Dominik had bitten off more than he could chew on his second directorial outing. Imagine my surprise, then, to find that this film is almost perfect.

Based on Ron Hansen’s 1983 novel, the film poetically, almost languorously, charts the intersection of the lives of Jesse James and Robert Ford, from the Blue Cut train robbery until their deaths. The knowledge that Ford must eventually kill James brings an acute tension to the film: we hang on the characterization (why did Ford betray James?), and we wonder just when it’s going to happen. This lends special moment to every scene with the leads.

And what performances the leads give! Brad Pitt does his finest work since 12 Monkeys: his James is believably conflicted, a naturally generous man whose largesse is swamped by a growing, terrifying paranoia. All this is conveyed with merciful and uncharacteristic understatement. Casey Affleck is on unprecedented form. He spent two and a half hours of making me hate his whining, shifty, greasy Judas, before, in the dénouement, managing not only to pick up dream-boat Zooey Deschanel, but even to have me pity him.

Meanwhile, the supporting cast is also excellent. Sam Rockwell is brilliant and painfully pathetic as Charley, Robert Ford’s older brother. Sam Shepard (Frank James), Paul Schneider (Dick Liddil) and Garret Dillahunt (Ed Miller) make their gang members very memorable with relatively little screen-time. They deliver the eccentric dialogue in an engaging, natural way.

All of this is played out in a visually spectacular world. Seeing the film with essentially no prior knowledge, I was surprised by the steely, cold beauty of the landscapes (Roger Deakins is DoP), which evokes the dream-like mythic atmosphere required for any James pic — even if here the myth is freshly reimagined and recast. Curiously, some shots (and particularly some action scenes) recalled Gladiator, and I wasn’t surprised to see that Ridley Scott had a Producer credit.

Moreover, the exquisite visuals are matched by the soundscape: this is possibly the best film score I’ve heard this year. iTunes here I come!

Verdict: A grand and beautifully shot account of the ignominious end of the West’s best-loved villain. Loses a star for unnecessarily rambling in Wood Hite’s story, but certainly one to watch, even if you don’t like Westerns.