R0BTRAIN's Bad Ass Cinema: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

I can’t seem to get away from Westerns. No matter what I start watching or try to get into, Westerns seem to keep coming back and taking over my viewing rotation. Seriously, I’ve seen 3:10 to Yuma like six times now and I’m still not really tired of it. Even when I see the trailer for No Country for Old Men, what seems to really appeal to me is the Western aspects that will be inherent in the movie; Tommy Lee Jones’ wily old Sheriff, the battle of wits and weapons between Josh Brolin and Javier Bardem, and the dusty settings of the Southwest.

There’s just some weird pull that the genre is exuding over me at the moment that I can’t control. This is why I was ecstatic to learn that The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford finally opened in my neck of the woods. To borrow a little dialect from the genre, it really feels as if I live in a “one horse town sometimes”. Living in rural Kentucky I’m not exactly in a hotspot when it comes to being able to see art films on a regular basis, and then to boot as soon as the movie opens, I get sick and have to go into the hospital for two weeks. Fortunately, the movie was still playing when I finally got discharged.

Now to be honest, other than what actually happens in the title of the picture, I didn’t know what to expect from the film. The three trailers I’ve seen for the film were very different. The teaser felt very Deadwood, showing a still photograph of Brad Pitt’s title character as Casey Affleck had a monologue in the back ground. The second trailer looked more like a Terrence Malick flick, with the art direction and cinematography featured as much as any performer within the movie. The final trailer I saw made it look as if the movie had pumped up the action in the film a bit, with a driving beat and more action shots in the two minute preview.

The movie I ended up seeing contained a little bit of all three trailers, but its heart can be seen in the second one. Of the three trailers, it’s the only one that really captures the mood of the piece; a melancholy tone poem of a film, with gorgeous photography and performances that exceeded my expectations. Without question The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is one of the best films of the year and a haunting, soon to be classic.


The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford Starring Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck. Directed by Andrew Dominik

First thing’s first, if you’re looking for an action-packed, non-stop thrill ride of a Western, with awesome shootouts and Horse Opera heroics, then by all means go out today and see 3:10 to Yuma. If you prefer Westerns such as McCabe and Mrs. Miller, Jeremiah Johnson, Pat Garret and Billy the Kid, and The Long Riders, then The Assassination of Jesse James is more up your alley. The movie washes over you instead of really trying to thrill you. It takes its time getting anywhere, and then when it does come the moments can be small, but can be shattering in their impact.

I love the mood that Director Andrew Dominik lays into the film almost immediately. With gorgeous images from Roger Deakins used as a backdrop for a montage of Jesse James facts, Dominik almost creates a documentary feel, but if you listen closely to the narration, the director throws in parts of the legend next to the cold hard facts. This is an almost subliminal way of creating mood, as the photography even becomes more and more dreamlike as the sequence goes on.

What Dominik has done is set you up for one of the film’s most important themes; perception. Casting a shadow over this entire film is the public perception of what Jesse James was to the people of this country. Obsessed with celebrity, we worshiped James as a Robin Hood-like outlaw when truly he was not that man at all. It’s this odd juxtaposition of reality and legend which keeps coming up as the film rolls on, and ultimately it leads each man to his fate.


Take for instance, the early train robbery within the film. As the train rolls toward an ambush, the film presents Jesse as if he were posing for one of the many dime novel covers that helped to embellish his myth. Using a lot of light and shadow, the scene reminded me a lot of old silent films toward the end of their era. One iconic shot after another fills the screen, showing this man in his element, where he felt most alive, reveling in this last ride for the James gang.

Once on the train though, the sad reality of Jesse’s life comes to the forefront. Jesse’s temper is wild and he’s unpredictable in just how violent he can be for almost no reason. Against an unarmed man, he nearly cracks his skull open and executes him for almost no reason. The classic “train robber” black mask over his mouth keeps slipping down, nearly falling off, as if reality were trying to tear the very legend from Jesse’s being.

Behind that mask is the best performance in Brad Pitt’s career. It’s hard to imagine a more perfect portrayal of the bandit for this film than the one Pitt gives here. He’s so perfectly cast as a man who is constantly under the pressure of his own legend, as both the authorities and the public can’t get enough information on him. Because of his won notoriety, he can’t help but mistrust everyone around him. No one seems safe, as if he could kill his closest friends at a moment’s notice. Even his family is kept at a distance, as if his happiness around them is just a show, so they won’t see the real man underneath his gentle façade.


I’ve never seen Pitt like this in a film, ever. It’s amazing how he’s able to exude so much menace by doing so little, as a fake laugh or a counterfeit smile seems like a death knell for the person he’s around. I’ve never seen so much controlled intensity from the actor before, as he’s genuinely scary in one scene after another. Then when he lets that fury loose, he’s somehow even scarier, letting his emotions run wild, such as a scene where he admonishes the Ford brothers because he thinks they’re conspiring against him.

The thing is, Pitt isn’t just a one-dimensional “bad guy” driven by impulse and anger. In this character he also lets loose a sadness and humanity like I’ve never seen from him before. Two scenes in particular reveal themselves, once after Jesse threatens a child and then once toward the end of the film in a scene with Casey Affleck’s Robert Ford that I’ll talk about later. The former scene is a stunner, as while questioning a minor about the whereabouts of an enemy he becomes an animal. In the beginning the scene seems like a testament to Jesse’s brutally, but a coda to the sequence, where James realizes what he’s become and what he’s done to this child, shows us real remorse and I think a little fear at the road he’s paved for himself.

The most startling thing about the picture is that even though Pitt does his best work ever, he’s somehow over-shadowed by Casey Affleck. I’ve heard some critics talk about how they hate how smarmy Affleck’s Robert Ford is in this movie, but in so many ways he singlehandedly drives this movie. So many of us have been in his shoes before, desperate to get someone we truly cared about to love us. Ford is so desperate to be loved by Jesse, even when he’s scared or trying to convince himself that he’s ready to end Jesse’s life, he still is looking for James’ approval and love. Look at the joy in his face when he receives a gift from Jesse. That joy seems so authentic. He wants so much to be loved by this man, and if he cannot have that love, he will try to simply attain the fame this man seems to spurn.


The best scenes are really the one’s where the two men are actually together on screen. The sequences where both men are alone on screen show such a range of emotions that it’s hard to catch up some times. The dinner scene from the trailer where Ford talks about the similarities is even more awkward in the movie because there’s no score music to help you along, Ford goes on even longer with their similarities, and worst of all, there is actually a room full of people watching Robert. His embarrassment at the end of his spiel is excruciating and the horrible silence while he is speaking seems endless.

My favorite scene in the entire movie is where Jesse presents the gift to Ford toward the end of the film. The scene is all over the place from both actors. Again, the joy on Robert’s face is astounding, and then it turns to suspicion and fear, as James’ menace shows itself. The most surprising aspect of the scene though, is when Pitt’s Jesse James unexpectedly seems to drop his guard. Listen to the anguish in his voice as he stares out the window at innocence and beauty. Saying my favorite lines from the movie he recites “Look at my red hands and my mean face… and I wonder ’bout that man that’s gone so wrong.” The effect is heartbreaking.

Whether these two actors receive Oscar consideration is still up in the air, but if Roger Deakins is not rewarded for at least a nomination for his efforts here, it will be a complete crime. There hasn’t been a more beautiful film put in theaters this year. With its gorgeous mountain panoramas and dreamlike sequences of grandeur, the movie is heart-stoppingly magnificent in a way that I’ve never witnessed before. Sometimes its just little things that really make the difference in this film too. From speeding up time to looking through imperfect glass, Deakins hits all the right notes. This is truly a uniquely looking film, and lovers of cinematography sh.ould flock to it.


From terrific supporting performances from Sam Shephard and Sam Rockwell to the superbly elegant script, I could go on and on about why this film is one of the best of the year. Everything really comes down really to a director with a particular vision who was able to find just the right people to bring that vision to fruition. Nothing on screen needs to be changed or re-shot. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is an incredible experience and a movie that will be cherished by film lovers for years and years to come.

Robert Sutton feels the most at home when he's watching some movie scumbag getting blown up, punched in the face, or kung fu'd to death, especially in that order. He's a founding writer for the movies section of Insidepulse.com, featured in his weekly column R0BTRAIN's Badass Cinema as well as a frequent reviewer of DVDs and Blu-rays. Also, he's a proud Sony fanboy, loves everything Star Wars and Superman related and hopes to someday be taken seriously by his friends and family.