The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
It's pretty safe to say that the Western, as a genre, is alive and vital once again. With modern movies like "True Grit", "Red Dead Redemption" in the video game realm and on TV, the series "Deadwood", which I continue to rave about even though no one listens, the genre is, in a word, "back".
2007 ALONE saw the release of "No Country for Old Men", "3:10 to Yuma" and "There Will Be Blood". That's impressive. With that many quality Westerns in the same year, it wasn't surprising that the Brad Pitt vehicle "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" got overlooked. In terms of public opinion and critical acclaim it was barely a blip on the movie radar. For these reasons - and as dangerous and slippery as such statements are - it may be the most underrated movie of all-time.
The movie tells the story of the last days of the outlaw bank/train robber Jesse James and his gang. After more than a decade of running from the law, Jesse's brother Frank James decides to go on one last big score and retire. With various gang members being killed, arrested or leaving over the years, Jesse increasingly has to rely on untested, unknown recruits and he's becoming increasingly paranoid. With a hefty ransom on his head, a U.S. Marshall could be anywhere, any ally could be planning to shoot him in the back and any job could go wrong.
This movie has everything I could possibly want in a Western... or really everything I'd want in ANY movie for that matter. When you're in the old west and everyone is carrying a gun on their hip and you're surrounded by outlaws, any moment could mean life or death. This movie has a life, a brutality and a tension that's hard to match. This movie is dark, it's tense, it's brutal and violent and sepia-toned and beautiful. And it's dark. The only criticism I can lob at it is that I can admit that Brad Pitt is essentially too good looking and, as a period drama, it can take you out of the reality of the movie. But such moments are brief.
In fact, all the acting in the movie is excellent. Brad Pitt - great as always, Sam Rockwell plays Charley Ford and is good in everything and Casey Affleck is excellent as the Coward Robert Ford. I think this is one of his first roles (I know I'd never heard of him) and he completely embodies the character. There's also a small "cameo" type role from Zooey Deschanel and a tiny cameo from Nick Cave who did the score.
The thing that stood out immediately was the cinematography. The look, style and shots in this movie are, at times, incredible. Certain sections and shots in this movie are some of the best I've ever seen. The direction is top-notch, the sound is great, the music is great and obviously the writing is excellent.
I spend some time on this blog talking about overrated films and why they're sometimes not all that good. But this movie IS good. It's my favorite film of any I've watched in recent memory. It's a reminder that even after all these years, movies can still stress me out. And a movie can still make me afraid of the dark.
9/10.
I haven't seen this, though I had to scour my memory banks as to where I'd heard the title before. Turns out it comes up in a Zevon song (aptly titled "Frank and Jesse James"). As go the lyrics:
ReplyDelete"Robert Ford, a gunman,
in exchange for his parole
took the life of James the outlaw
which he snuck up on and stole"
Anyway, I can't agree more with the love of westerns, I always seem to find something entertaining in them. This weekend I was at my cabin and watched Blazing Saddles (Mel Brooks movie are a cabin standard). Anyway, though it's not a proper western by some standards, it's still great fun and gets you into the whole feel. I was just echoing Doc Brown's thoughts about teh joy of spending out one's days in teh old west.