An American Western set in the cold rolling hills of the 19th century Midwest, chronicling the last days of the Jesse James gang. The story focuses on Robert Ford, who is awestruck and obsessed with the train-robbing bandit. Their paths cross and the two develop a relationship eerily similar to today's celebrities and their entourage, or a domestic abusive situation.
Directed by Andrew Dominik, 2007. Rated R, 160 mins
Starring Brad Pitt as Jesse and Casey Affleck as Robert Ford.
(special appearances by Sam Shepard, James Carville and Nick Cave)
REVIEW by Cinemagirl:
This is definitely not a typical western. The creepy obsessive relationship between Robert Ford and Jesse James could take place today as a tale of a fan loyally following his idol and then feeling spurned when the feelings are not returned.
The cinematography (by the great Roger Deakins of Coen Bros. films) was very clever. Shots would be entirely blurry, except in the center where some interesting action or shot of a character would take place. The film contains beautiful, dreamy shots of grassy plains, hillsides in winter and blue skies.
Pitt was a believable Jesse James, very cocky. And Affleck did a good job of playing the annoying, fumbling sidekick.
STORY: 8.5 out of 10
LOOK: 8 out of 10
ACTING: 7 for Pitt, 8 for Affleck (average 7.5)
AVERAGE TOTAL: 8 of 10
I'm not too sad that I missed it in the theatre, but it should definitely be rented.
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REVIEW by Lewis
I found "Jesse James" to be a little more of a realistic Western story. I'm not sure how accurate some of the history was, but it all seemed believable to me. I have to confess that I have been waiting a very long time to see this movie, because Robert Ford is a distant cousin of mine, so I've been curious to compare the family "hand-me-down" stories to the film's story. It's always exciting to have a celebrity in the family tree. I'm not sure if I should be proud of that or not, which is a feeling you'll get from this drama. Who defines cowardice? Who defines hero? This is the part of the film I found very interesting.
I did love Casey's portral as a young, star-struck fan of Jesse James. It reminded of those sad young teens trying to emulate Paris Hilton. Just as Paris is not a person anyone should aspire to be, Jesse James isn't really either. He's cocky, manic, unpredictable, not to mention a killer and a thief. Sam Rockwell (Charlie Ford) shouldn't be overlooked either. He did a great job in sitting in the awkward place between Jesse (his boss) and Robert (his brother).
The pace of the movie was a bit slow, maybe more then it needed to be. It did help out with the tension between characters when needed, though. The editor (Dylan Tichenor: Royal Tenenbaums, Magnolia, Brokeback Mountain...one of my favorites) probably made a good choice in the pace, but some might find it tedious. The cinematography was amazing. Deakins is a master at his craft and I don't know if he can do any wrong.
Overall it is worth the rent, and you will need a pee break in there somewhere, but I do recommend it.
STORY: 7 out of 10
LOOK: 9 out of 10
ACTING: 8 out of 10
AVERAGE TOTAL: 8 out of 10
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