Review: Superior acting, filmmaking propel ‘James’ saga
If it weren’t for the fact that “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” boasts such well-known, contemporary actors, one might think the film were accidentally locked in a studio vault during the 1970s and only recently rediscovered. There is something splendidly musty and blessedly anachronistic about it.
It is a throwback to another time when films were allowed to be unhurried, when audiences trusted multiple story lines to converge organically, and time and place were evoked with consummate craft. The old is new again, and it has never looked so breathtaking.
“The Assassination of Jesse James” makes use of extensive voice-over narration that not only describes events but also comments on the characters and their actions.
The epic saga (with an epic running time of 160 minutes) is set in 1881. Civilization, even with its rough edges, has come to the frontier. This isn’t a Western with gunslingers and saloons, but with Victorian houses and bowler hats. The time of the brigand is nearly at an end. As Jesse James (Brad Pitt) plans what is to be his last great robbery, he finds himself under siege from the law and members of his gang, who are tempted to turn him in for a reward so large it dwarfs anything they might haul from a bank vault.
James becomes increasingly paranoid, prone to fits of shocking inhumanity followed by melancholy bouts of guilt-sodden remorse. Despite these moments, James gets little character development. Far from being an oversight, James is always removed, at a distance, larger than life, one-dimensional, an enigma — but then most legends are. To delve too far into James’ humanness rather than his persona would be to deny “The Assassination of Jesse James” its primary purpose. This is not a film about Jesse James, nor is Pitt its lead actor. This is a film about Robert Ford, and Casey Affleck is its star.
Ford is a quivering, sycophantic leech grasping for greatness. As a child, he collected everything he could about the exploits of the legendary outlaw Jesse James.
At age 19 (James is 34), Ford finds himself in James’ gang of ragtag ruffians. He does everything he can to ingratiate himself to James but only comes off as an obsequious, flattering toad.
“I can’t figure it out,” James tells him at one point, “Do you want to be like me or do you want to be me?”
Ford is so desperate to be the thing he worships that supplanting his idol may be the only way he can find peace. As the title declares, Ford will betray his hero and fire a bullet into the back of his skull.
Were Ford’s actions self-defense or cowardice? Or was James, resigned to the fact that his days were numbered, committing suicide by another’s hand?
Despite the fact that Pitt recently won the Best Actor prize at the Venice Film Festival for his role as Jesse James, it is Affleck who stuns. His sniveling inferiority and mumbled cadence is faultless. The supporting cast is no less impressive and on screen so often they deserve recognition.
“The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford,” based on Ron Hansen’s 1983 novel by the same name, is a scholarly dissection, using the camera as a scalpel to peel back the layers of time and lore in an attempt to get at the truth — or at least the filmmakers’ version of that truth. More than just a study of jealousy, obsession and revenge, the film is a major revisionist work, deconstructing American folklore to reveal that obsession with celebrity and the uncomfortable tether between crime and fame is certainly nothing new to the 21st century.
The film is awash in the sort of macro-attention to detail — historical, mythological, behavioral and psychological — that few pieces of art come close to achieving. The film’s glowing, painterly cinematography and barren wintry landscapes may easily be the most incandescent scenes to grace theater screens this year.
details
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Cast: Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Sam Rockwell, Paul Schneider, Mary-Louise Parker, Ted Levine
Director: Andrew Dominik
Playing at: Tinseltown
Rating: R (for some strong violence and brief sexual references)
Running time: 2 hours, 35 minutes
Grade: A
