Truly remarkable film (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (DVD))

Member Name: Almost_Blue

Product:	The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (DVD)
Date:	19/07/09 (59 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: brilliant music, brilliant cinematography, brilliant acting, brilliant story

Disadvantages: Could have been longer

This is without doubt one of the best films I've ever seen.

Beautiful cinematography. Every single frame is dripping with beauty.

The music is truly captivating. Coupled with the action taking place on screen it really is quite beautiful. Haunting and sombre. It annotates each scene with it's sweet and mellow presence; not too hard to distract us from the action and not too delicate.

The acting by Brad Pitt is great but I really have to hand it to Casey Affleck. Ever since I watched 'Gone Baby Gone' I thought he was a superb actor, but his performance in this film really confirms it. His facial expressions and mannerisms are so subtle but so striking. The way he mumbles his words may agitate people, but I love it.

The film is slow and the plot is pretty much evident in the title (well at least the assassination part). I personally feel that the length of the film really adds to the intensity and emotion of the story. The director could have cut this movie to 1:30 minutes but would the film still have left an impact? By making it long, he explores the characters in excruciating detail so when something significant happens (Jesse being gunned down) it leaves us stricken and rather sad. Yes Jesse was a ruthless outlaw who killed with little remorse and stole with impunity (contrary to popular belief he was not a Robin Hood figure who stole from the rich and gave to the poor) but he was still very much human and in the film comes across as a likeable but conflicted man.

I've started reading the book and it's definitely much more detailed than the film. Ron Hansen writes in a very detailed and expressive way and the narration from the film (another thing I love) is pretty much word for word taken from the novel (Fans of the film should definitely check it out).

Final Note: The film definitely isn't for everyone. It plods along taking it's time, allowing the viewer to soak in every single detail. More of a character study, fans of films like the '25th Hour' would probably appreciate this, it truly is a work of art.

Summary: Truly remarkable film with fantastic performaces all round, good music and great cinematography