The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford review

"Art Film" is a phrase that turns off a LOT of casual theater-goers. It's equated with long, confusing movies with a lot to say but not a lot to do.

The outrageously long-titled "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" can, and does, easily fit into that category.

The film follows famous outlaw Jesse James(Brad Pitt) during the latter years of his career and his subsequent assassination by his obsessive and jealous partner Robert Ford(Casey Affleck).

The first thing I noticed is that the film is quite an exercise in patience at its 2 hours and 40 minute runtime. But if you can bear it, the film has quite a lot to offer.

There is a lot of depth in the characters. Robert Ford and Jesse James get fully fleshed out in all their twisted glory. The film is low on action, but deep in beauty. The cinematography(by Roger Deakins, nominated for an Oscar for this film and his work on No Country for Old Men) is breathtaking. The pacing is good for such a long movie. It starts off a little slow, but it picks up in the last 45 minutes of so.

I really loved Casey Affleck in this movie. He has really come into his own this year. I think Andrew Dominik has a gem here with his first directorial attempt. It's a methodical, cerebral experience that is also a simple painting. It does something that is essential for movies of this ilk: it isn't boring.

However, there is something that severely irritates me: The Narrator. They have a narrator that always chimes in at the most profound times and gives mostly pointless comments on things I could easily interpret on my own. Sometimes he has valid points to say, but a lot of the time he just annoys me.

But, it's still an impressive achievement. I give it

88/100