The Assassination of Jesse James by the coward Robert Ford is probably one of the most competently made things I have ever seen. Every single thing about it is immaculate. It is so sad that it didn’t get much attention because of being released in the same year as There Will Be Blood and No Country For Old Men.
The film starts off as a normal western but as the story progresses, it becomes more intimate and meditative. The storytelling is done in such a way that the viewer feels as if they are reading a novel. The scenes are designed like many different stage plays, yet the cohesion in the narrative just never weakens. The magnetic atmosphere draws you in from the get go and your eyes stay glued to screen throughout the runtime.
The film can be interpreted in many ways, there’s a lot of complexity it is weaving beneath the storyline of a usual western, it is a portrayal of a toxic relationship between a celebrity and a fan, a great commentary about the idol worship where as the fan enquires more about the hero, the former’s admiration for the latter slowly fades away. It is an acute character study of a broken man whose brooding inner turmoil is getting the better of him. It is a dark coming of age story where a boy with mighty dreams turns into something vicious because of the circumstances.
The filmmaking is pretty much perfect here and is laced with some astonishing performances. Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck arguably are part of some of the best acted scenes of their respective careers in this film.
The film miraculously justifies its gigantic runtime because of the meticulously done filmmaking, it teases the assassination thing for so long everyone knows it is about to go down and yet it is still shocking when it actually happens. Thanks to the strongly built dynamics between Jesse and Bob, the director very smartly presents it as the whole crux of the film.
Jesse and Bob’s relationship is interesting because both of them have his mystical aura to their respective personalities. Jesse appears as a tough guy who has no feeling of empathy for anyone except his family but several instances
prove there’s some humanity to his personality as well that is probably outweighed by his seething anger which comes from the decisions he constantly laments about. And Bob’s motives are never made clear, was he gay? was he a fanboy? was he jealous of that attention? It is never really said, but the performances lets you accept any possibility.
I can ramble about the technical aspects of the film at lot but I won’t because I am just not worthy of talking about them. They are literally the definition of perfect.
Overall, if you haven’t watched this film then do yourself a favour and watch it. Don’t be put off by the idea it being a usual western, there’s a lot more to it that would appeal to almost everyone.
Ritesh has only two passions in life: movies and writing. With over two years of professional writing experience, he goes beyond SEO norms to convey his unfiltered love for cinema. A devoted admirer of Martin Scorsese, Ritesh believes that cinema is the most powerful storytelling medium on the planet, and through his words, he seeks to share that passion with the world.