Movies / Movie Reviews

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

By Hervé St-Louis
November 11, 2007 - 20:53

Jesse James, one of the most famous criminal in American history who stole from trains and banks in the state of Missouri with his band of thieves and his brother after the American Civil War. One and member, Robert Ford, younger brother of Charley Ford who had gained James’ trust would ultimately be his murderer. Produced by Brad Pitt, who stars as Jesse James, and Casey Affleck, as Robert Ford, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford tells the story of the gang after their last train robbery in 1881. The film was supposed to be released in September 2006 but was postponed and reedited almost a year later for a release on September 21, 2007.

Pitt has shown repeatedly that he is a great actor and performance in this film may finally bring his an Oscar win. However, the real star and talent in this film is Casey Affleck who shows through a few grins and muted gesture that he can express complex emotions with his less than expressive face. The movie starts with heavy narration as it was based on a 1983 novel by author Ron Hansen.

Charley Ford by Sam Rockwell

Much of the film is spent in quiet exposition forcing viewers to understand characters by observation only. Although a linear story, some of the detours taken with the film make the story less interesting to follow and understand, for those of us not versed in Jesse James’ folklore. For example, the scenes with Dick Liddil and Jesse James’ flirtatious step aunt did not solidify the narrative. Some of the characters’ motivations were also not well explained.



The good thing about the film, was the sense of dread one could feel. It was really different from what I expected. I expected a film where James would be a conscious narrator or confessing his sins to the younger Ford, only to see the man betray him later. What I saw was much more involved and devoid of fourth wall commentary between the characters and the viewers.



Yet, it seemed that Jesse James knew that he would eventually be killed by Ford and this made the movie seem like a constant fortune cookie that the characters would take bites off.

I did not like blurred framing device used on introductory shots. From a stylistic sense to give the film some literary value, I guess that they are useful. But instead of making the viewer more immersed in the film they only served to repel them and make them conscious that this was a movie. The heavy-handed narration did not improve the audience’s immersion either.

 

Last Updated: November 29, 2025 - 16:51