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Andrew Dominik, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

by Kathryn Durfee
10/27/2007

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford finally rode into metro-Atlanta theaters this past week after being in very limited release for over a month. Produced by Warner Bros. Pictures along with Brad Pitt's Plan B and featuring big names such as Pitt, Casey Affleck, Mary-Louise Parker, and Sam Rockwell, I figured it would be showing every hour on the hour throughout the country. I now understand the reasons for the limited release: this film is for a very limited audience.

Jesse James is a legend. He holds an impressive record of murders, bank heists, and train robberies. He is thirty-four years old, smart, and confident. Robert Ford is the youngest of five Ford children and is hoping to become a member of James' gang. He is awkward, inexperienced, but obsessed with James and desperately wanting to prove his worth as a "sidekick." While planning his next robbery, James is sidetracked by tracking down his enemies that are after the fame and fortune that accompany James' capture and arrest. As it turns out, the people he trusts the most are the ones that will betray him in the end.

Jesse James opens with storybook-like narration, performed by Hugh Ross, that rattles off a list of facts about the legendary figure. This narration continues throughout the film, almost as if Ross is reading the first page of each chapter of a book (this film is based on Ron Hansen's 1997 book of the same title, so perhaps someone just got lazy in the screenwriting department).

Narration works in some cases (as in Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums, meant to read as a story), but here unfortunately detracts from the film, disengaging the audience by bringing them back out of the action. The audience should feel like a part of Jesse's gang, but is instead simply looking in.

James doesn't pick sides, presenting the viewer with detailed views of both the larger-than-life James and the insecure Ford. When it becomes clear that James is ridding himself of his old gang, Ford and his friend Dick Liddil (Paul Schneider) make a deal with the police to execute James.

James has taken Ford's brother Charlie (Sam Rockwell) to his home as his right-hand man and, upon Charlie's urging, takes young Robert in as well. Growing increasingly paranoid, James flutters in and out of madness. He hides his depression with bouts of congeniality and good humor, keeping Robert and Charlie on their toes. He seems to know the end is near, and probably looks to death as a release from the fear that has consumed him.

Brad Pitt at first simply plays Brad Pitt. His Jesse looks and acts like any of the actor's other characters. Always eating to show off his jaw line (you laugh, but look at any of his other films and you'll see him scarfing down a hoagie or something), having a good time with his buddies, and walking with the confidence of one of the so-called sexiest men alive.

However, as the film progresses and James descends into madness, Pitt surprises with fast turns from the man's man to a wanted killer. From anger to depression, and joviality to fear, Pitt presents a wide spectrum of emotion. Likewise, Affleck shines as the young Ford. Those who have seen Gone Baby Gone are aware of his ability to hold his own as the leading man. His confidence from Baby is here replaced with nervousness and the desire to please. He too changes from the nubile Robert we are introduced to in the first scene to a man determined to shape his own destiny by eliminating his idol. Affleck plays his Ford like Damon's Mr. Ripley; obsessed with his friend to a degree that raises concern. Does he want to be with James, or does he want to be James?

Sam Rockwell plays a nervous Charlie, looking constantly disheveled. Mary-Louise Parker takes a break from dealing drugs in Showtime's hit series Weeds to portray James's wife Zee. Zoey Deschamel also makes an appearance towards the end of the film.

The film is beautiful, but far too long (running at 160 minutes). It lumbers along, dragging its feet through narration and scenes of questionable relevance. I admire director Andrew Dominik's desire to keep the film from becoming a Hollywood action film, but the "artsy-ness" of the resulting picture at times pushes the limits of the audience's ability to sit still.

Shot on location in Alberta, Canada, James features some absolutely stunning shots. The scene of the first (and, much to my disappointment, only) train robbery is worth study. Taking place at night, the scene makes use of the play of the train's lights through the trees. James, feeling the vibration on the tracks, steps into the light and is silhouetted on the screen. During the patches of narration, it looks as though the cinematographer was armed with a pinhole camera. The edges blur, creating a stunning effect but ultimately giving the feel of looking through some old-timey bubbly glass, again forcing the audience outside the story.

James exhibits the most fade-to-blacks I've ever seen before reaching a conclusion. The film would have been much stronger had it ended with James' death (since that is what is suggested by the title), but it instead wanders for another half hour or so, detailing the after effects of the assassination which could have been wrapped up in a summary paragraph of text (or yet another patch of narration!).

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is a beautiful film with images recalling old American westerns, but is in desperate need of an editor with a sturdy pair of scissors. The film takes the long way 'round in every possible way.