The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) Review

 

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)

The Assassination of Jesse James follows Jesse and a few of his associates after their last job together, as Jesse becomes increasingly paranoid his former crew are looking to collect on his bounty. But once killed, his fame is only amplified, much to the dismay of his killer.

I’m big on historical accuracy in movies based on real events and boy did this leave me very satisfied. The 19th Century period was replicated to perfection, along with portrayals of the real life outlaws that the story follows. It’s a pretty clear cut story, with Bob admiring and wanting to be like Jesse, even riding and raiding with him, but upon killing him, gets the very opposite of fame and is despised and eventually killed for his role in the assassination of Jesse James. It’s almost sad, he was a pathetic and overlooked man, and yet, when he did the right thing, he was only hated more, as that was his one claim of fame. It’s so faithful to real events and brings the story to life in an engaging and uncampy way, something many Westerns based on real life end up being.

The cast was phenomenal, featuring Casey Affleck, Sam Rockwell, Jeremy Renner, Paul Schneider, and of course, Jesse himself Brad Pitt, who puts forth a seriously good performance and one of the best of his career as the hardened and paranoid gunslinger. There is a tenseness to him whenever his character is on screen, which is reciprocated by those around him that is almost frightening how menacing his performance is. Casey Affleck is also great, making us obviously feel bad for the tossed aside Bob but never really wanting him to have the fame he desired.

The film is also absolutely stunning, with some extremely impressive visuals that capture your eye, where each scene is so well composed by the legendary Roger Deakins and it’s backed up with an equally impressive western style soundtrack by Nick Cave.

This film is a thrilling, tense, and intriguing look at the end days for James and his gang, as well as the rise and fall of his killer. It’s a powerful story of how far one will go for fame, whereas one tries to escape it, one seeks it out.

10/10