The Assasination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Saw it today and liked it a lot. It had far less action than I expected, but I enjoyed the juxtaposition between the languid pace and the ever-present tension that someone was going to kill someone any second. You feel that tension as a viewer, and know those characters felt it constantly being around each other.

And birdscribe, I don't think James is portrayed favorably -- he's an interesting guy, but not a killer with a heart of gold or anything. We're not (at least I wasn't) sad when he dies. They also do a good job of illustrating how his legend grew and got exaggerated.

 

Thanks for this, AB. I'll probably take the historian Mrs. to see it, but she has less of a tolerance for revisionist bullshit than I do.

Zeke, I know. Just trying to strike a blow for, you know, REAL history.

James' press would make a good case study in PR classes.

 

It's an American archetype. Omar Little, anyone?

 

JESSE JAMES
from the Seeger Sessions album

 

Well Pitt is a low down, dirty Missourian who probabably celebrates the day Quantrill burned Lawrence in the name of slavery. [/NativeKansanthatlovesfanningtheflamesoftherivalry]

 

Saw it again tonight with the girl - who liked it as well.

I read a good review on a BLOG!. The person who wrote it said the movie is one that can't be "quickly explained or understood or broken down in a 30-second sound bite," therefore you'll hear a lot of words like long, boring and confusing thrown around.
The girl and I were talking about it for a good hour after.

 

Bought this the other day and watched on Monday and really enjoyed it. The slow pacing does a good job of building up the tension and Pitt's growing paranoia is effective.

Casey Affleck was excellent and now I'm going to have to check out Gone Baby Gone.

A gorgeous looking movie that really captured the slower pace of a time when it took a month to ride your horse across Kentucky or wherever.

 

It still takes a month to ride your horse across Kentucky.

 

Touche.

 

Actually, the reason you hear the word 'boring' associated with this movie is it's boring and too long.
I didn't find it confusing, but it does meander, and the tension between the gang members, although interesting at points, wasn't enough to sustain the movie.
The movie didn't work.
However, I prefer to watch a movie that tries to be different, interesting and thought-provoking but falls short rather than a movie that follows some moldy pablum routine to success.

 

This is the first movie that took me three days to watch. The first movie that took me two days to watch was that idiotic Steve Zissou with Bill Murray. All throughout the movie I kept thinking how good a book this would make. Apparently it is based on a book, so I got the book. Book's a total character study that can lose you just as easily as the movie. Very faithful to the facts, though.

 

The cinematographer on this flick, Roger Deakins, got screwed big time at the Oscars. He was up for this AND for No Country, but lost to the guy that did There Will Be Blood.