Movies You May Have Missed - #10 The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)

"You know what I expected? Applause. I was only 20 years old then, I couldn't see how it looked to people. I was surprised by what happened. They didn't applaud."

OK, let's set the scene:
It was a cold winter night in December of 2007 when I sat down to watch this movie. It has only happened to me a few times in my life, but this was one of those times when the theater was completely empty. I knew that this movie was getting mixed reviews and pretty terrible box office, but I couldn't have imagined that the theater would actually be empty... Anyway, I'll always remember this movie-going experience, for a couple of reasons: Not only was it a good movie, but walking out of the theater itself was particularly memorable...
This was the last showing of the night, at 10 PM. Since the movie is nearly 3 hours long, I didn't get out until about 1 AM. The forecast had called for a "dusting" of snow, but as most Mainers know, weathermen - especially around here - don't know anything. So I walked outside, having just seen this wonderful movie... and I discover that there's over a foot of snow covering everything. Under normal circumstances, this would have unleashed an avalanche of expletives. But on this night, all I could think about was the movie. Scenes ran through my head as I thought of the pitch-perfect performances, beautiful photography, and strong direction. But my biggest thought was a simple one: Why didn't more people see this?
Well, there's many reasons for that. The film's post-production turmoil was pretty widely discussed before its release, but here's a simplified run-down: Director Andrew Dominik and Warner Brothers clashed frequently during production, especially during editing. Dominik was making a slow, languid, Terrence Malick-esque mood western, and the studio had hoped the film would include more action and violence (no doubt due to the frenetic 3:10 to Yuma remake which had been released earlier that year - and had been a pretty sizable hit). Warner Brothers wasn't getting what they wanted, and after Dominik's original four-hour cut played at the Venice Film Festival and garnered the Best Actor award for Brad Pitt, Dominik suddenly had ammunition in his fight to get his cut released. However, Dominik (whose only prior directing credit was the independent film Chopper in 2000) didn't have the experience - or the clout - for contractual final cut. Warner could have conceivably done whatever they wanted, but, thankfully, Brad Pitt was the one major wrench in the works. Being a producer on the project and personally backing Dominik, Pitt was able to work with Warner to get most of Dominik's vision on screen. So Brad Pitt, apart from giving a great performance in the movie itself, is a big reason for its success. Since the studio wanted to keep a good relationship with him, they were basically prevented from screwing around with the movie and fucking it up. Even the movie's title (we'll get to the genius of the title later) - a constant point of contention with the studio - was unable to be changed: Brad Pitt had a clause put in his contract stating that he would only participate in the film if the title was not changed or shortened. Thank God for Brad Pitt.
But enough back-story - let's get to the movie itself. As it begins, there are no opening credits; not even a title. Based on a book by Ron Hansen, the movie uses copious narration as a framing device, and it's some really beautiful stuff. Lush and often quite majestic, most of it is taken straight from the book:

We are introduced to the title characters: Jesse James is the famous outlaw, and Robert Ford is the wide-eyed kid who has adored him since he was a child. Bob's older brother Charlie is part of Jesse's gang, and through him Bob somehow finagles his way into the group. Famously cautious and mistrusting of new people, Jesse sees something in Bob, and allows him to join in:

But for all his charm and mystique, Jesse is still a ruthless and calculating killer, and when he snaps, he's a truly frightening beast. This next sequence is one of Brad Pitt's best moments in the movie. A truly great piece of work, Pitt is able to capture the duality of the role beautifully. Now a middle-aged father of two, Jesse has slowly become disgusted with himself and his brutality over the years, most notably in this scene as he crosses the line when bullying a young boy for information:

Bob has also discovered the real Jesse, and has quickly become disillusioned. The man he idolized in his youth has been revealed to him, flaws and all, and it's not something he can easily accept. Here's a beautifully written scene in which Bob, comparing himself to Jesse, acknowledges that the Jesse he had admired was nothing more than boyhood fantasy. Bob speaks of this mythical figure of Jesse James as though he's already dead, and the sense of loss that Casey Affleck imbues in these words is really quite exceptional. With his hero all but gone, at least in his eyes, he's lost his sense of purpose...

...But when the sheriff makes Bob a proposition - a reward for Jesse's assassination - his sense of purpose is renewed, and he finally has his shot at glory: as the man who killed Jesse James. In the lead-up to the ending, here's a couple of great scenes...
The first is in the days leading up to the planned assassination. As you can see, Jesse has become more and more whacked-out... and dangerous.

And here's a great little sequence. As Bob prepares himself for the big day, he immerses himself one last time in Jesse's world.

Now we arrive at the last act of the movie, which is also my favorite section of the film. Bob has successfully completed his task, and he's now known as The Man Who Killed Jesse James. The narration tells us that at that time, his name was more well-known than that of the President. He and his brother Charlie portray Bob and Jesse, respectively, in a popular theater re-creation of the assassination for the stage. Hundreds of people make the pilgrimage across the country to visit the house where the assassination took place. Bob has finally made something of himself. The entire world finally knows his name.
But public opinion changes. The legend of Jesse James grows over the years, becoming a sort of fairy tale. The story now turns Jesse into a modern-day Robin Hood, stealing from the rich and giving to the poor. His dozens of murders are glossed-over, and the stories of those murders altered to fit the needs of this new history. Jesse James becomes an American Hero, and Robert Ford is now the Coward who murdered him. And this is where, finally, the absolute genius of that title comes into full view. Everything comes full circle, and that title, which before seemed to be simply a statement of fact, is turned completely upside down and becomes something else entirely. I don't need to spell it out for you - you get what it means. But I found it pretty damn powerful. It seems odd that something so simple as the title of a movie could affect me in such a way, but to see the story play out, and to see why the name of "Coward" given to Robert Ford is so wrong in so many ways... It really hit me. In a totally honest, primal way. Thank God that title wasn't changed.

Now we come to the last scene of the film. My usual warnings of Spoilers obviously apply here, but there's really no reason not to watch it - there's nothing you see here that you wouldn't discover by Googling "Robert Ford". There's really no need to comment on it - it's just extraordinary... very well done.

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford was nominated for two Academy Awards: Roger Deakins for his beautiful cinematography (he was nominated twice that year for Best Cinematography - for this, and also for No Country for Old Men), and a very well-deserved Supporting Actor nomination for Casey Affleck. Of course, if it was up to me, I would've thrown a whole load of other nominations in there for it as well, but I must especially point out the amazing score by Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, which I'm sure you've noticed when watching these clips. It's definitely a well-acted and directed movie, but the score has a lot to do with the movie's impact. (A little bit of trivia - Nick Cave has a cameo as the saloon singer in one of the clips above).
I'd really like to see the full four-hour version eventually, although it seems unlikely given Dominik's rocky relationship with Warner Brothers. I love the film as it is, but there was over an hour of material that was cut! In particular, Zooey Deschanel's character was almost completely cut out- the last clip above contains nearly all of her screen time in the film. I may sound insane, but I could do another hour of this movie - easy.
As you can tell from this post, I really loved this movie. I loved it when it came out, and it only seems to get better every time I see it. It's obviously a long haul, but if you're into these kind of slow, languid, unhurried pictures (à la Terrence Malick) and you haven't seen it yet, you should definitely give it a try. Like I said, reviews were mixed-to-good, but it seems like one of those pictures that people really start to appreciate years later. I really only hit the main points in the review; there's lots of great stuff I didn't even mention, including great supporting performances by Sam Rockwell (Snow Angels) and the always-reliable Paul Schneider (Lars and the Real Girl). So, if it seems like your cup of tea, give it a shot.