Years after their criminal heyday, the revamped James (brothers Frank and Jesse, played by Sam Shepard and Brad Pitt) gang go for one last, big train robbery but the job does not go as planned. With little warning, several of the gang's members begin giving each other up. First, to another gang member, then to the government and further still. The film is not that difficult to follow but reasons for these actions are never cleanly interpreted.
Did Jesse James overstay his welcome because he was a outlaw/minor celebrity that was still alive and they wanted a piece of him, be a part of James's history dead or alive? Did the duplicitous gang member(s) coerce some of the other men into believing they or their families were in danger (some is apparent in bloodlines but not fully explained)? Did the James gang / Jesse's family dislike him so much so, even though he treated his gang and family for the most part with strained decency (unless he was crossed)? Was something cut out of the movie I did not see, even though the film runs 2 hours and 40 minutes? (A early, longer cut ran over 3 hours.) Or is it all of the above? For this reviewer could not see the forest for the trees? (This reviewer stops to stare out his window...lights his pipe, takes a sip of tea and stares out some more...)
Instead, we get minutes of staring by Jesse James and Robert Ford (played by Casey Affleck) and beautiful shots of Canadian and American Northwest exteriors. Brad Pitt and Affleck gives some of their best performances but a lot of staring hurts the pacing. Pitt stares at the sky, a plate on a table, a drink in his hand, a door, the wall, his horse, at other characters, a newspaper, his gun and a very dusty but very important picture on the wall. Affleck does much of the same but towards the end it must have affected his vision because he does so with tears in his bloodshot eyes- or was that acting?
Affleck as the initially fervent Robert Ford whom slowly becomes a soft-spoken, unhinged ball of wormy disdain and jealously is excellent but his presence on screen is diminished by his tinny, almost whiny delivery and half smile-ish scowl. It is a boring, been there, done that, acting choice but it works well for this film. I am not a fan of either Affleck brother but this is one of Casey's best performances. (Also see, The Killer Inside Me (2010))
This reviewer also understands that this is really a character study of pride, jealousy, mental illness, the harm of being a member of a dysfunctional family, the consequences of criminality and the shame and guilt, killing and death can bring. Yet, viewers should not be fed minutes of staring in a play of minimalism to trigger the synapses for understanding. Instead, faith in acting and editing would have done this on its own, especially when the actors are exalting some of the best performances in their careers and when a film like this is so beautifully visually mounted.
"Assassination" is a purposefully slow film but a trim here and there would have really helped. Still, it is highly recommended by this reviewer. If one does not mind watching grown men stare.
Instead, we get minutes of staring by Jesse James and Robert Ford (played by Casey Affleck) and beautiful shots of Canadian and American Northwest exteriors. Brad Pitt and Affleck gives some of their best performances but a lot of staring hurts the pacing. Pitt stares at the sky, a plate on a table, a drink in his hand, a door, the wall, his horse, at other characters, a newspaper, his gun and a very dusty but very important picture on the wall. Affleck does much of the same but towards the end it must have affected his vision because he does so with tears in his bloodshot eyes- or was that acting?
Affleck as the initially fervent Robert Ford whom slowly becomes a soft-spoken, unhinged ball of wormy disdain and jealously is excellent but his presence on screen is diminished by his tinny, almost whiny delivery and half smile-ish scowl. It is a boring, been there, done that, acting choice but it works well for this film. I am not a fan of either Affleck brother but this is one of Casey's best performances. (Also see, The Killer Inside Me (2010))
This reviewer also understands that this is really a character study of pride, jealousy, mental illness, the harm of being a member of a dysfunctional family, the consequences of criminality and the shame and guilt, killing and death can bring. Yet, viewers should not be fed minutes of staring in a play of minimalism to trigger the synapses for understanding. Instead, faith in acting and editing would have done this on its own, especially when the actors are exalting some of the best performances in their careers and when a film like this is so beautifully visually mounted.
"Assassination" is a purposefully slow film but a trim here and there would have really helped. Still, it is highly recommended by this reviewer. If one does not mind watching grown men stare.
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