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THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD (Dir. Andrew Dominik, 2007)Despite some good word of mouth in its theatrical release last fall this got majorly overlooked even in the nonsensical "is the Western still alive?" debate that some critics indulged in. At the years end it made a number of top ten lists and recently garnered Academy Award nominations for Cinematography and Best Supporting Actor (Casey Affleck) so wider interest in it will be sure to spread. It absolutely deserves a bigger audience for it's a great movie; it's powerful as well as subtly moving and comes off as a true story, which it is, and a tall-tale at the same time. A gaunt Brad Pitt is the infamous outlaw Jesse James - a notorious bank robber, bloody murderer, and "legendary figure of the Wild West" (as Wikipedia puts it). As a timid awkward newbie to the James Gang, Robert Ford (Casey Affleck) longs after some of that legend glory and posits himself in the line for history by...uh...just reread the title - I guess I don't have to worry about spoilers here!

The film could as well be titled "The Last Days Of The James Gang" for over its 2 hour and 40 minute running time the other members (including Sam Rockwell, Jeremy Renner, and Paul Schneider) get a lot of screen time and their all fates intertwine with those of the 2 title characters. There is a large chunk of the film that Affleck is absent from as we learn family backgrounds and the score on deadly set-ups past and future. Pitt, understated with a persona drenched clean of razzle dazzle, is the best I've ever seen him - not a second of actorly digression. Casey Affleck once again makes the case that he's the Affleck brother that should be in front of the camera as his Ford progressively seethes from within - outwardly idolizing yet quietly despising the aloof but intense James.

As I said before this was nominated for Best Achievement in Cinematography and it definitely deserves to win. Roger Deakins' (also nominated for NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN) work here is explemporary - even single shot is beautiful whether ithey are of be open terrains, spare wooden house sets, or the snow covered woods where a body could be dumped and not found for many seasons. Affleck also deserves his nomination but I doubt he'll get the gold (I'll refrain from Oscar predictions just yet) - overall the entire cast is well chosen with Sam Shepherd as James' brother Frank James, Mary-Louise Parker (who barely has any lines but a great screaming and sobbing scene) as James's wife, and the previously mentioned Rockwell in a manically precise part as Robert Ford's brother Charlie - see how 'in the family' this all is? In my review of 3:10 TO YUMA last September about the fate of the modern western I said that "it's a genre that will never die" and great sprawling masterworks like Dominik's THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD make me re-affirm that statement.

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