The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Perfect in every moment. The film is of a similar vein as Malick's The New World – poetic cinematography, no rush, a story that flows very slowly and gives the great performances of the protagonists space to shine through. In Casey Affleck's case, I feel that maybe he was born to play Bob Ford. A perfect prototype of a down-to-earth little rat without a shred of charisma (in appearance, speech, gesticulation), who tries to match his bandit idol, but it’s clear that he is not up to it. At the same time, however, he arouses ambivalent feelings, partly you strongly dislike him, partly you pity him and even understand him a little. Affleck's performance was so mesmerizing that it almost overshadowed Pitt himself. He plays everything with the power of his personality, he doesn't have to try too hard, it’s enough that he "is", one probing gaze can bring you to your knees. His Jesse James is a perfectly unreadable character who hides behind a stoic, calm and animalistic brute who can blow your head off and not even blink. I have no hesitation in writing that I saw Pitt give the best performance of his career here. There are no fireworks, the film is more of an emotional affair, and if you are into MTV and believe Transformers is the best movie you’ve ever seen, do not bother with this one. For me personally, the best western in years, where every scene has a solid place and where the editor's scissors should be hidden deep in a drawer for once. PS: After 6 unsuccessful nominations, it's really time for that Oscar, Roger Deakins. (02/02/2008)

An artistic western is in itself a combination that I would consider an oxymoron rather than anything else. Well, this film didn't change my mind about it. The comparison with Terrence Malick is quite fitting because the pace is similar. Yes, there is so much hidden beneath the surface, it certainly is a gem, as some say. I just have a feeling that the creators wanted to make something out of the western genre that it is not, and so they didn't really make a western at all, but rather an artistic biography with subtext. Talking about tension here simply isn't possible. I don't understand Dominik's perspective on the world and I don't even have the desire to understand. I would actually believe that the original novel would be more interesting to read. (25/03/2014)

A slow, but smoothly told story of fate, in which you know the end of all the characters the moment they are introduced at the beginning as a bunch of primitive rednecks hungry for money. Dominik's direction, coupled with Deakins' cinematography, has an almost hypnotic effect, and the film rides (thanks also to Nick Cave’s score) on a wave of feeling rather than shaking the colts damnably low. Pitt acts "only" by constantly pitying them and Affleck's slimy rat - you hate, you understand, and on and on. Either way, he’s the one who owns this film. It’s too bad the director isn't as good at creating relationships between the characters (briskness) as he is at atmosphere because then it would have been brilliant. This way it stayed just below the higher review scores. (02/02/2009)

In the entire 160 minutes of this film there is not a single shot that is redundant or superfluous, and this can't be said very often. I agree with the review by Lima, who thoroughly analyzed the actors, characters, and their actions. The only difference is that for my voracious mainstream taste, I would need more action. But this piece will satisfy old hands and film intellectuals (not the cynics) one hundred percent. (25/05/2008)

Brad Pitt gave one of the best performances of his career, and if Andrew Dominic hadn't made it so long, this might have been one of his best movies. The unnecessary rambling of the story takes away from its intensity and distracts from the main plot. I guess that's the only thing that bothered me. The other actors do their best, too, and Casey Affleck is either a great actor or a total douche in reality. Ford is an ugly figure, and even the ending couldn't redeem him in any way. He did what he did, and I didn't care at all that he regretted it. A young naïve fool who wanted to become famous and killed his friend. In a cowardly way, from behind, and for no fundamental reason. We shouldn't kill our heroes, we should look up to them. A very strong four star rating. (18/03/2008)