The Assassination of Jsse James by the Coward Robert Ford film review

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THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD

After wowing audiences at the Venice Film Festival, where Brad Pitt picked up the award for best actor, Andrew Dominik's new film premieres in Britain at the London Film Festival. It's part homage to the style of Western that was pre-eminent in the 1970s, part elegy to a faded and largely forgotten time, and part history of one of America's most notorious incidents.

Dominik made his name with the Australian film Chopper but here he turns his attention to a very different gangster in a very different period. His intention is to dispel the folklore surrounding a now almost mythological figure and instead of glorifying James and his gang, the portrayal here is of a group of weary men, living on their nerves and a healthy dose of mistrust in Missouri in the 1870s and 1880s.

Outside of a snappy train robbery sequence at the beginning the film largely deals with the psychology of the group as Jesse and his brother Frank (a brief appearance by Sam Shepard) go their separate ways. Jesse returns home with Charley and Bob Ford (Sam Rockwell and Casey Affleck), the former a longterm lieutenant and the latter an impish newcomer. As they plan one last job, they are suspicious of potential treachery and Bob, a parasitic and nervy character, sees his admiration for his teenage hero conflicting with the bounty on Jesse's head.

If Pitt can hope that he will receive his first Oscar for his performance, his strongest competition may well come from his co-star. Affleck comes of age and steps well and truly out of his older brother's shadow with a startling performance: his Bob is weird, wired and willing to do just about anything to get his hero's attention. He's not likeable, but it's it's impossible to stop watching him. In the title role, Pitt confidently dismisses any expectations of a Western action hero by portraying a meditative figure, prone to outbursts of charm and anger, gradually realising that his powers are drifting away from him at a relatively young age.

This is a film that very much takes its time, and the almost Beckettian nature of some of the situations may well detract from its box office prospects. Some people may find that the title isn't the only long thing about it, but others will revel in a feature that defies modern Hollywood convention.

Paul Hurley