I don't really understand how TAOJJBTCRF (hahaha) is repetitive, Joe. Care to explain?

On another note, you can still any camera shot here, blow it up a bit, and hang it in your living room. That's how stunning this film's camera-work is, more than Dawkins' other work this year...

My only complaint about the film is that it takes a while to get going. But by the 40 minute mark, you've learned the film's style, and can't take your eyes away. This is very well-told. In a way, it reminds me of Lynch's "The Straight Story." You want to dismiss it - because it does require focus - but the story eventually captivates you, despite its simplicity.

Highly recommended, potentially the best western since, maybe, The Outlaw Josey Wales.

I think the best compliment I can pay is this: even though it's lengthy, even though it's slowly paced, and even though it has nothing close to an action sequence, it's never boring, it's never predictable, and it's never anything less than utterly compelling. The two leads are fleshed out so deeply that, by the film's end, you know exactly why these two men are doing what they're doing, without need of explanatory dialogue or rich narration. And it's complimented by two of the best performances of the year: Pitt's rogue, mysterious, and near-evil outlaw contrasted perfectly with Affleck's quiet, awkward, and off-putting coward. I think it's fascinating how Ford is the real protagonist of the film, and how his consuming desire to become Jesse James culminates in a devastating and fitting finale. Coupled with the beautiful cinematography (I particularly loved the shots with the hazy edges) and the terrific score, this is a character study of the highest order.

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (quite the title, isn't it?) is one of 2007's most underseen and underappreciated gems. For nearly three hours, it's a fully mesmerizing, captivating work of art. There's no use in describing the plot since it's given in the title, but it generally follows two stories. The first is the story of the deterrioration/downfall of notorius American outlaw Jesse James. It's not an epic descent (a la Daniel Plainview of There Will Be Blood), but watching the movie, it's not difficult to gather that he has some semblance that he is nearing not only the end of his days as an outlaw, but the very end of his life. The other story is of Robert Ford, the twenty-year-old assassin. At first, Ford is obsessed with Jesse James, but the more he gets to know him, the less an idol the man seems to be. He takes it upon himself to be the man who brings the legendary Jesse James down. But even in the 1880's, the United States was a celebrity-obsessed culture (albeit in different ways), a fact Ford becomes aware of too late.

The movie builds and builds throughout its running time, all leading up to the final third of the movie, which seals the deal on its brilliance. The most noteworthy thing here is the acting. Brad Pitt has never been better (at least in the movies I've seen him in) than he is as Jesse James. There's not a moment when the illusion that he is the outlaw is broken. I'm amazed that he got pretty much nothing after the Best Actor win at Venice. His final scene represents what has to be the best individual scene work of his entire career. (The assassination scene, which comes past the two-hour mark, is one of 2007's best.) Casey Affleck is worthy of his Oscar nomination as Robert Ford. The ending of the movie belongs to him, and his performance is very powerful. Between this and his role in Gone Baby Gone, he has arrived as one of the best rising talents in Hollywood. We can only hope he keeps it up.

The technical work is also superb. Roger Deakins's cinematography represents some of the very best work of the year. There isn't a frame in the entire movie that isn't absolutely beautfiul. It's even superior to his excellent work in No Country for Old Men. The art direction and costume design are also great, and the original score is tremendous.

All in all, this was an incredible film. Hopefully it will find a much larger audience following a total theatrical botching on part of distributor Warner Bros Pictures. Apart from the first 45 minutes or so being somewhat slow, this is as flawless as a film can be.

Grade: A very high A-

Jesse James is really one of the film's that I don't love simply because it is just not my kind of thing, but I can fully appreciate the technical greatness of it. As far as filmmaking itself goes, this was brilliant. I think I had problems with the screenplay, but the acting, the pace, the directing, the cinematography, the setting...simply top-notch.

wonderfully shot. Great performances by Pitt and Affleck. Haunting score. The last hour was really well edited and put together. But the first hour and twenty minutes were slow and dragged a bit. The movie could have received an A from me if it had had at least a couple of good shoot outs or something to break the monotony a bit.

B

I can't find this ANYWHERE. I want to see it SO badly!

I know! My local video did not get it so that was annoying. I actually got it through Comcast's On Demand service. See if you have it there if you have cable.

I expected to love this, but I can't say I found it that special.
It was obviously beautiful, and I didn't have an issue with the length but ehhh....I'm not sure. I'l have to think about this some more.

This is oficially teh most boring movie ive ever seen. Not kidding.

C-

More boring than:

The Messengers
Captivity
Norbit
Ghost Rider
Code Name: The Cleaner
Rush Hour 3
Happily N'ever After

THose werent boring, just bad.

More boring than the New World?
Atonement?

ive havent seen them.

Go. To. Hell.

Now.

I rented this from the brick BB about a week back.

I enjoyed this tons more than I expected. It certainly helped that I knew pretty much zero about the film except for what the title states. I thought Casey Affleck was simply Perfect for this role. If you've seen a picture of the real Rob Ford then you should agree. Perfect casting. I especially enjoyed his speech and the tension in his voice when he spoke and the emotion you could see build in him whenever he felt slighted especially during the scenes when James joshes at him. You could just see the pent up anger. I also liked Sam Rockwell. He did another great job. I thought Pitt as James was good, but not great. What else could he be when matched with Affleck's A+ performance. The movie did seem to run long, but I liked how they went on and showed what happened to Ford which is quite surprising if you don't know the story. It's also a sad ending to that man as well. As far as the narrating, it was slightly annoying early on but I got used to it by the end.

Acting = A
Length = B

Grade = A

For those who have seen this film...

Do you agree that Casey Affleck was supporting in this film?

Because I sure as hell don't. I think that Pitt and Affleck were both equal leads in this.

I think that Affleck's Robert Ford is something of a supporting character in the first half of the movie, but the second half is unquestionably his.

Overall, technically he's a lead. He's in what 85-90% of the film.

I think he has more screentime than Pitt...

It's just that most studios are afraid nowadays to say that their films have two male or female leads, rather naming them supporting (see Collateral for instance...)

I liked the movie even more after a second viewing. There were many things I missed the first time. For example, I never understood the big buzz about the train robbery but that changed completely. What a masterful sequence. And it still wasn't boring for a SECOND. A

Oh wow. This really is stunning.

It's really an amazing character piece. Ford and James are easily two of the most fleshed out characters of last year, they're just so layered and rich. All their emotions, motivations, thoughts are laid out on the table, and you just soak in it.

This is Brad Pitt's best performance to date, but Casey Affleck is still even better. You can just read the pain on his face, the emotions he goes through. His reaction at the farmhouse when James comes to dinner and mentally breaks him is just stunning work. I wasn't as enthused as much as everyone else with his work in Gone Baby Gone, but this is superb.

Now obviously the movie is incredibly well shot and nice to look at... Andrew Dominik, a star is born? I echo El Pollo Loco's comments about how it's not like a Malick film at all, by the way. Dominik doesn't really concentrate on the landscape that much here (other than the sky), he excels much more with sets, lighting, character close-ups, etc., It's better IMO. Oh, and I just wanted to say this movie had some of the best blood splatter and kills that I've seen in a while, or like, ever. Every gunshot and death was absolutely fucking fantastic. I also quite loved the production and set designs in this movie, as a period piece it was absolutely believable and real.

The last 30 minutes are the strongest part of the film for me, everything from the narration, to the lighting on that stage, to the look on Affleck's face, to the final freeze frames... Just an absolute clinic.

As for the length... Surprisingly enough it absolutely flew by for me. Normally even in 3 hours movies I like, I still feel it, but I didn't here. I was actually surprised when I looked up its running time after it was done, it didn't feel that long.

This is surely one of the very best movies of last year.

5/5

Oh and as for Lecter's question, I agree, Affleck is lead. I actually find it kind of funny that Pitt and Jesse James were treated as the marketing lead and star of this film, it kind of ties in with Robert's arc/depression in the film... "As far as I can remember, Jesse James has been the biggest thing around, and I've just been little Robert". Reminds me of the Dreamgirls situation where Beyonce was marketed and Hudson was not, treating Hudson exactly like her character in the film.

I begin to believe that this great film had no buzz whatsoever last December.. because not enough people saw it!

Well, part of the problem is in how Warner Bros totally botched the theatrical release. It pretty much came and went in my area, and about the same time as other big Oscar bait like Gone Baby Gone, Into the Wild, and American Gangster was out. I'm not surprised that it picked up a wider audience on DVD, because in all honesty, it is a pretty tough movie to market.

Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck shine in this fact-based film surrounding the last few months of Jesse James' life. While Pitt's betrayal of the man is fantastic, Affleck's betrayal of Robert Ford is what really made the film wonderful. He never loses a beat from his first minutes on screen up until his own death at the end of the film. Other notable performances would be from Sam Rockwell and Paul Schneider. The one and only flaw though with the movie is that a couple parts in the middle and in some of the first few minutes before the train shooting seem to drag on too long. Other than that, this film is a great joy to watch. A-

Casey Affleck plays the most difficult and frightening kind of obsessive geekboy there is. What separates him from Kathy Bates in Misery?