The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford (6/10)
posted in Movie Reviews |
What could have been a fantastic western biopic turns into a lukewarm, meandering character study.
Writing: It’s hard to lay much blame on anything else about this film being responsible for any shortcomings, so I guess the real problem was the script. Now, it’s hard to be 100% sure about that kind of thing without actually reading the thing, but it’s hard to imagine otherwise. There are a pretty good number of characters in the story, many of which are either poorly defined or almost superfluous to the story. For a film which is primarily a character study, motivations outside of the main character or two are vague at best. It only starts to come together once the story is widdled down to just Jesse & Robert. Though the character of Robert’s brother Charlie is pretty well done. Frankly, I’m not entirely sure that the character of Robert even works completely until after he kills Jesse. In fact, the movie itself works very well after the assassination, almost enough for me to have warmed up to it more. But then I consider what the whole film could have been judging on that last act and become more disappointed in it even more.
Production: Absolutely nothing to complain about in terms of production. From the excellent costume work to Roger Deakins’ gorgeous cinematography, it all works admirably.
Cast: The film boasts and excellent cast, who clearly wanna give it there all. Brad Pitt makes much of his character work, though his is the most confusing of characters in the story. From his “home life” to his life of crime, nothing seems adequately motivated or grounded in reality. I don’t think Pitt is at fault for any of it not working. Casey Affleck falls into a similar trap. He’s certainly an interesting casting choice, and he’s an underrated actor so I’m happy to see him get a prominent role. Sam Rockwell is the highlight of the film, though, as Robert’s brother Charlie. He’s the screwed up but well meaning and amiable enough guy trapped in the middle of all this insanity. I was reminded of Jared Leto’s character in Lord Of War as I watched Rockwell’s performance. Other roles are filled out with excellent actors, such as Sam Shepard and Jeremy Renner. And as an added bonus, Zooey Deschanel (one of my favorite actresses) gets a brief role in the final act of the film. At least she got to appear in the best part of the film.
Music: Nick Cave & Warren Ellis had done the music for the superior western The Proposition (which Cave also wrote), and they come through again with a gritty and nuanced score. Not best-score-of-the-year level of material, but quite good.
