The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert FordMovie Reviews

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• So-so Based on 4,449 reviews
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  Written October 22, 2007

  An Interesting take on an old story.

  by ledzeppelin

  I went into this movie like most people. I thought I was going to see a shoot em up Western movie. Assassination is not like that at all. There are only a handful of scenes that involve guns or action. In reality this is a story surronding the events around the end of Jesse James' life. At this point in his story he is not concerned with robbing people or killing them. He is interested in living an honest life and being a good husband. Casey Affleck provides an amazing role. I saw him in all of the Oceans movies and he did not play much of a role. This movie, to me, is his breakout role. He plays a cold and remorseless character. Although this movie is EXTREMELY slow moving the end is well worth the wait. I could not have asked for a more perfect ending. The movie felt real, the characters felt real and if you can sit down for almost three hours you should enjoy this.

  • 7 out of 8 found this review helpful.
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• Must Go!
  Written October 4, 2007

  Don't expect a shoot 'em up

  by GaryE1

  I think that many of the people who didn't like this film were probably going expecting a western shoot 'em up ala 3:10 to Yuma. If that's your taste, then go see Yuma and skip this one. If, on the otherhand, you are looking for a poignant and thoughtful drama (never mind that it's a western) then this is the mivie for you. It's not that the movie doesn't have some violence (it does), but that ehre the gun play is not the important point. It's the character's emotional lives and society's reaction to them that is. A rich and interesting film this is; an action packed shoot 'em up it is not.

  • 8 out of 10 found this review helpful.
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• Oh No!
  Written October 3, 2007

  If I'd had my handgun, I would have shot Jesse James myself in first hour of movie!

  by GearMaven

  What was this? I attended the free screening tonight in San Francisco and, within the first hour, I was ready to pull out my own handgun and shoot Jesse James myself. What a long, drawn-out excuse for a Western...with totally irrelevant scenes and long supposedly poignant or extended staring and deep, what I assume were meant to be, soul searching scenes of men staring at each other somberly. Geez! Give me a break! A character study of Robert Ford, unnecessarily long and despairingly drawn out to almost 3 hours. Simply cinematographers trying for Oscar without making a movie for an audience! Do not go! Rent it, if you must, and forward through the majority of the movie.

  • 7 out of 9 found this review helpful.
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• So-so
  Written October 16, 2007

  Thinking people watching people thinking

  by forloveoffilm

  Director Andrew Dominik deserves some dubious credit for crafting a western which defies standard conventions. He relies on actors pondering, thinking and calculating their thoughts before speaking or reacting. While this is how people may act in real life, to do so in a film, the audience is left waiting for something to happen. Excessive artifice such as desaturated colors (red pallet removed) and iris effects which obliterate the edges of most of the scenes tends to distract after awhile. Casey Affleck's performance is one of subtle brilliance. Watching him being crushed by the disillusionment of reality coming head-on to hero worship is a rare treat. Affleck conveys more emotion in one motion of a furrowed brow than many 'stars' have done in entire careers. The ending is protracted and prolonged in spite of the use of freeze frames to compress the action. All in all, while an impressive film, it is not one which is for most American audiences.

  • 4 out of 4 found this review helpful.
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• So-so
  Written January 21, 2008

  The assassination of a good movie by director Andrew Dominik

  by FRONT_ROW_

  VERY SLOW moving, the couple next to us walked out. Pitt is a pro but has too little to work with. I found myself looking around to see if anyone else was tapping their foot or fidgeting in their seat. Could of,would of, should of, been so much more.

  • 11 out of 18 found this review helpful.
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• Must Go!
  Written October 18, 2007

  A hauntingly beautiful film exploring the nature of celebrity and the mass media in American history

  by rickjw

  Andrew Dominik?s The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, is a deliberately paced, stunningly visualized, and emotionally charged exploration of the early development of mass media celebrity in America. The film riveted my attention for two hours and 40 minutes, and has remained on my mind for several days after my viewing. Although centered on one of the iconic legends of the Old West, it is far beyond an updated reincarnation of the Western. It is an epic allegory about the development of the American cult of celebrity and the effects of this obsession on the individuals caught in its web.
  
  Roger Deakins surpasses his best work and pulls out all the stops here?intricately orchestrated changes in focus, dazzling use of light sources, careful manipulations of time, powerfully significant fade-ins and fade-outs, and shots through rain, snow, and rippled old glass?

  • 4 out of 4 found this review helpful.
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• Must Go!
  Written October 22, 2007

  A WORK OF ART

  by berklee

  I totally agree with above reviewer who stated that people who didn't like this movie have short attention spans. Just another symptom of our fast food Walmart nation and what it's doing to people's minds.
  
  This movie is a work of art! The cinematography is breathtaking, and the performances are utterly captivating and believable. It's a drama that gets into the minds of both James and Ford, and attempts to capture the humanity and tragedy of both. You may see bits of yourself or people you know, and it may make you think a little--which is, after all, the POINT of art.
  
  Do yourself a favor, take a break from the mind spinningly fast-paced, high-gloss / low-content of most of today's fillms and go see a REAL movie!

  • 5 out of 6 found this review helpful.
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  Written September 22, 2007

  The Assassination of Jessee James by the Coward Robert Ford

  by cerver1

  The duel of wits and will between the characters played by Pitt and Affleck are mesmerizing. The eye contact and body language of these characters are as close as you can get to bringing in the audience to the tension. The words and deliivery are delicious as is reading a great book. This is a classic and will be seen over and over again by fans who relish great filmmaking. Genevieve

  • 5 out of 6 found this review helpful.
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  Written November 30, 2007

  altman meets tarkovsky meets burns

  by filmbuff60

  The realism of the character portrayal reminds me of a Robert Altman movie. The languid pacing reminds me of an Andrei Tarkovsky movie. The narration reminds me of a Ken Burns project. Casey Affleck should get an oscar nomination; he conveys so much emotion and uncertainty with his eyes at first but he changes as the action proceeds: a subtle performance. This title should get snapped up by Criterion, as this is a film that deserves repeated viewing. Just wish I had not ordered the medium drink, it got rather painful by the end, perhaps making the narration based action drag even more. The fact that I did not dash out early attests to the power of the production.

  • 9 out of 14 found this review helpful.
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• Oh No!
  Written September 27, 2007

  Jesse James

  by crez33

  This movie was brutal. It is way too long - not because it's 2 hours and 40 minutes, but because there are multiple scenes that drag on pointlessly and because there are longueurs scattered throughout that slow the pacing.
  
  There is no one to root for. Neither Jesse nor Ford are empathetic characters. Despite the title, Ford does not seem like a coward, yet this is manipulated to be fact in the end. The main characters lack depth and motivation. I found myself wondering why anyone was doing what they were doing.
  
  Some nuances, mostly non-essential but needlessly included nonetheless, are surprisingly difficult to follow.
  
  The two bright points - it is very pretty to look at. The landscape makes for a very nice setting, and the cinematography is well-executed. Also, the score matches the shooting well. It is soft and delicate and helps lull you into the old fashioned world.

  • 6 out of 9 found this review helpful.
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• Oh No!
  Written September 30, 2007

  disappointment on many levels

  by bdog1

  the palpable tension could be felt in the theatre and especially moreso in the audience who literally by the end were almost all fidgeting in their chairs. this was a torture session watching this film. it was like an a and e biograpghy gone wrong that lasted 3 hours. despite strong acting performances, I found myself waiting for the plot to take off and for the story to kick in. it was incredibly boring and dull.

  • 4 out of 5 found this review helpful.
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• Must Go!
  Written December 19, 2007

  A masterpiece

  by lisaloveslinkinpark

  This movie is a modern masterpiece. Every aspect of this film was flawless. The first point I must talk about is the amazing acting that single-handedly makes this film so memorable. Casey Affleck's portrayal of the "coward" Robert Ford is a performance that will be remembered for years. He plays a character that audiences have been waiting to see for years. He is amazing. He puts his heart and soul into every single one of his lines and it shows. His acting alone should be reason enough to see this film, however, every aspect of the film is great. Jesse James is easily Brad Pitt's best performance ever and it's a shame that he's not getting more recognition from American critics. The score of the film, by Nick Caves, is hauntingly beautiful. The music for every scene is gorgeous and really fits what's going on in the character's minds. The cinematography is revelatory; the whole film looks like an old picture.
  
  Best film of 2007.

  • 7 out of 11 found this review helpful.
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  Written November 6, 2007

  Great Cinematography, Interesting Acting, Poor Directing.

  by sstone7

  First I must say that I walked out on the end of the movie, because my wife was tired. I wanted to stick with it to see if the end ever mattered. The movie almost starts out promising, watching the James brothers rob their final final train with their mish mash group of misfits. But even that was uninteresting. Stop train, beat postal worker up, steal some money and goods, sleep in a nearby farm house. It continues on as the narrator tells the audience that Jesse James was killed on a certain day (you are told this a few times during the course of the movie, not including the TITLE! This movie more and more seemed like story of the freaky sexual preferences of the characters. This movie almost made me believe there was plenty of man on man action in the James boys gang. The movie also had many unnecessary scenes, and many of the necessary scenes lasted longer than they should have. Also pay no attention that Jesse has an eye problem where he blinks too much. He doesn't blink at all!

  • 5 out of 8 found this review helpful.
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  Written November 5, 2007

  NOT ART

  by Blowhard

  I guess if a movie sucks we call it art. That's just a way for the faithful to say, " You didn't understand it." It was a study in tension, not patience and definitely not character developement. Jesse James was flat. A boring predictable paraniod. Bob Ford was just plain irritating. The only interesting part was the last half-hour. Instead of hours of Judas vs. Jesus it would have been much more interesting to get a more developed view of Bob and Charlie Ford's life after the murder.

  • 3 out of 4 found this review helpful.
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• Must Go!
  Written November 11, 2007

  The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

  by cody999

  This is a beautifully filmed and directed movie. The acting was superb by both Pitt (of course) and Afflect (wow). The movie is a bit long, but it is done so well that you will not notice. It's one of those movies that you think about for days, and you will immediately want to see again.

  • 6 out of 10 found this review helpful.
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