ALLAN HUNTER at the Movies

AMERICAN CINEMA is such a dominate global force that it becomes an easy target for lazy criticism and thwarted ideals. Then along comes a film like The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford and you are willing to forgive its sins.

The wintry majesty of Andrew Dominik’s epic western carries reminders of Bonnie and Clyde and Days of Heaven in its ability to scrutinise our contemporary fascination with celebrity within the landscapes and attitudes of the old West. It is beautifully composed and completely enthralling.

Brad Pitt’s brooding, inscrutable Jesse James is the Victorian equivalent of a hunted celebrity. A killer and bank robber, he has a fame that spreads across America. Nobody cares about the truth of his exploits but they thrill to the myths surrounding his notoriety.

In 1881, adoring fan Robert Ford (Casey Affleck) edged his way into the James gang, joining brother Jesse and Frank (Sam Shepard) in what would be their last train robbery. Besotted by the mercurial Jesse, he felt they shared an unspoken bond and came to believe that his own claim to fame would rest on being the man who shot poor Jesse dead.

A melancholy tale, Jesse James has brought out the best in everyone. Roger Deakins makes the snow-filled terrain as beautiful as an Ansel Adams photograph. Pitt has never been better as he lends a brooding menace to the volatile outlaw and Casey Affleck is tremendous.

Pasty-faced with a sickly smile, Affleck’s Ford is every inch the desperate, delusional fan convinced that he too deserves a place in the spotlight.

Jesse James is long and a little slow in places but it has been made with the eye of a painter and the soul of a poet. It provided a great closing night for the recent Inverness FIlm Festival and really deserves to be seen on the big screen.

Director: Andrew Dominik
Stars: Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Sam Rockwell, Sam Shepard, Paul Schneider, Mary-Louise Parker
Screenwriter: Andrew Dominik based on the novel by Ron Hansen
Certificate: 15
Running time: 159 mins
Country: USA
Year: 2007