The Assassination of Jesse James

[MikeBSG]

I saw this yesterday. Has anyone else here seen it? What did you think?

I was very impressed by this film. By focusing on just the last year or so of the James Gang, it avoided the trap that consumed Walter Hill's "The Long Riders." Also, it didn't seem slavishly indebted to previous Westerns. While the subject matter somewhat reminded me of "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid," in that characters associated with the wild West get knocked off one by one, the style was different, more realistic and deglamorized.

The performances were all terrific. Brad Pitt was fine as Jesse James, capturing the man's charisma as well as his terrifying violence. Sam Shepherd made me wish that he had been in several more Westerns. His Frank James is perfect. Casey Affleck holds the movie together as Bob Ford. When you first see him, you think "oh, no, the movie is about this loser" but while he gives you the creepy neediness of the character, he also makes it impossible to simply dismiss him as a loser. As for the rest of the characters, they made me wish Sam Peckinpah were still around for they could have fit in his "stock company."

From the reviews, people either love this movie or hate it. I loved it, but I can see why some are disappointed that the movie doesn't move faster or is more glamorous. Also, while the reviewers claim the film is about "the American cult of celebrity," rest assured that it tells a real story and is not a thesis film.

[klondike]

Thanks much, Mike; this film, & Golden Compass, are very likely the last two "going out" movies the Mrs. & I will take-in this year; we did spring for Beowulf last weekend (and found it very satisfying), but that decision was much easier to make than it would've been for Assassination of Jesse James (etc), as the former's genre niche is much simpler & narrower, and its ads have been plentiful and quite expository.
So, again, thanks for tipping the scales!