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

Starring: Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Sam Rockwell
Director: Andrew Dominik

I’ve got to admit – I was more than surprised. A western in this era of cinema, and especially one by a director I’d never heard of, did *not* make my heart “flutter with anticipation”. In fact, I half-expected this movie to be merely a launch for Brad Pitt to try and win an Oscar; not much else really seemed to be in this movie. Of course, that opinion was adopted purely on the fact that the title sounds like a joke, Brad Pitt was in it, and the director was a nobody (I pretend to be a movie-snob whenever possible ). I hadn’t seen any trailers, hadn’t read any reviews, and didn’t know anybody who’d heard of the movie; it wasn’t until later that I realised this movie was an Oscar nominee. But even then, it was in the categories of cinematography and supporting actor, which didn’t excite me enough to go and find out what all the hoo-hah was.

So, when I tell you that this movie absolutely floored me, you can imagine my surprise! As is obvious to even the most stupid, this movie is about Jesse James – legendary outlaw and unusual anti-hero from the good ol’ days of the “Wild West”. But to merely describe it like that is to do it an insult; this is more than about Jesse James – it’s about Robert Ford, his brother, the James gang, the aura of the West, and the need for a reckless society to make mountains out of men.

The movie centers on Jesse James (Brad Pitt) at the fag end of his outlaw career. The old gang has broken up, and all that’s left is a motley crew, one of whom is Charley Ford (Sam Rockwell), a bumbling crook, who, like everybody else in the gang (with the possible exception of Frank, Jesse’s eldest brother) basks in Jesse’s shadow, and is happy to be the legend’s flunky. Jesse James has already established himself as an icon, an image that has been glorified in a series of dime-novels. Robert Ford (Casey Affleck) is Charley’s kid brother and Jesse’s biggest fan; his worship of the man borders on obsession, having never really outgrown worshiping this hero of his youth (At one point, Robert narrates how he used to have a list of things that he and James had in common – including the fact that they were the youngest of three brothers, and that the second children of both families had 6-letter names!). Robert, only 19, begs to be a part of the gang, and, despite his innocence and foolhardiness, is taken under James’s wing for reasons unknown to anybody save James.

From the start, we know the outcome of this tale (it’s in the damn title, after all!) and we can’t help get the feeling that Jesse James does too; his relationship with Robert is curious and strained, yet their fates seem unfathomably intertwined. We see James as a ruthless outlaw, a seemingly semi-crazed lunatic, with severe bouts of depression, and also as the loving family man, with an almost primal instinct for danger. He never takes off his guns, and is rumoured to be impossible to sneak up on. There is a tension in him that you don’t see, but can feel – maybe it comes from being an outlaw and having to run, maybe it’s from living under an alias, maybe it’s just the guilt of his conscience. Whatever the reason, he seems a man resigned to his fate, and one who seems to have recognised his executioner before the latter has even realised it. Perfectly balancing this monolith of a man is Robert Ford – a kid who wants to grow up quickly and can’t decide if he wants to *be* Jesse James, or be *like* Jesse James (A question James puts to him soon after they first meet.). Having forever lived with being the baby, he wants to prove himself to everybody; and eventually, he realises that the only way for him to do it is to take out the legend – be The man who killed Jesse James.

The beauty of this movie is not so much in the tale – there are no surprises, no serious plot twists, nothing that would make you leap out of your seat – as it is in the telling. The cinematography is beyond words – every shot, every scene , every aspect communicates something about the men, and the world they live in. This is a hard land, and these are hard men. Pitt does a fabulous job – his Jesse James seems etched from stone, untouchable and austere. But the real surprise is Affleck! While most people remember him from his small role in the Ocean’s 11 trilogy, I recently had a chance to see him in Gone Baby Gone (also a *fantastic* movie!), directed by brother Ben Affleck, and he showed that he was no slouch in the acting department. That image is only reinforced in this movie. Although I was initially surprised that he was nominated for the Best Supporting Oscar, having watched this movie, he completely deserves it. Affleck’s Robert Ford as a man struggling with who he is, and who he becomes, and he portrays him with a suitable amount of subtlety and edginess. Even the score and the narrative do a brilliant job of helping the audience focus on the finer nuances of the characters’, um, characters?

All in all, I couldn’t find a single thing wrong with the movie; and considering that it’s almost three hours long, that’s pretty impressive.

For further info: The Assassination… at IMDb.com

Movie Review: Sleuth (2007)

Starring: Michael Caine, Jude Law
Director: Kenneth Branagh

I’ve always firmly believed that if a script, or more specifically, the dialogue, is good, the movie can never be *that* bad. A good script can keep the audience’s interest alive, even if all other aspects of the movie fail. Well-placed witticisms and statements that subtly tease the viewer to delve beneath the surface and truly connect with the characters and their frame of mind can inevitably make the difference between a good movie and a bad one.

Sleuth not only delivers on all these fronts, instantly making it a very watch-able movie, but also goes the proverbial distance – with powerhouse acting by Caine and Law, incredible sets, and Branagh’s classy direction, you’d be hard-pressed to find *anything* wrong with the movie.

Loosely based on the Anthony Shaffer play, Sleuth pits the very famous crime-writer Anthony Wyke (Caine) against the young, brash actor, Milo Tindle (Law). Tindle has come to Wyke’s paranoia-induced (I’m pretty sure that’s a fair extrapolation, what with the staggering number of surveillance cameras he seems to have peppered all over his estate) technological fortress to ask for a divorce; Tindle has run off with Wyke’s wife, and they want to get married as soon as possible. Wyke seemingly takes it in his stride, and does Tindle one better – he proposes that Tindle steal his precious jewels and sell them, while Wyke reaps the insurance money. The reason: He wants to make sure that his wife doesn’t come back to him, and so wants to ensure that this out-of-work actor can accommodate her extravagant lifestyle.

The opening scene sets the standard for the rest of the movie – an almost aerial view of the characters’ cars, with Wyke remarking “Mine’s bigger than yours”. What follows is an intense battle of wits in a claustrophobic arena; an intellectual cage-match, if you will, that the actors (and the characters they portray) seem to play with each other with effortless ease. With plot-twists and intense acting, Sleuth borders on the realm of a psychological thriller, forever keeping you on the edge of your seat, straining your ears to listen to every word so as not to miss a single syllable, a single nuance. The haunting score adds to the eerie atmosphere, getting darker as the game gets more serious. Branagh, as with his other movies, shows a mastery rarely seen, but never forgotten. The effortless way he tells the tale through a mixture of close-ups and surveillance photography creates a distance and a sense of scale that matches the actors and the ambiguous characters they’ve created. This is a visual masterpiece, perfectly complemented by a wonderful script.

Note: From other reviews I’ve heard/read, don’t expect to see a remake of the 1972 film. This is not The Omen; Branagh’s direction and Harold Pinter’s screenplay have created a movie that *very* loosely follows the same story. The only common points would probably be Michael Caine (Caine had earlier portrayed Tindle in the 1972 film), the basic outline, and the end.
(Or so I’ve heard. I haven’t seen the ‘72 film myself, so I can’t really compare.)

For further info: Sleuth at IMDb.com