My Poor Brain

4.5 out of 5

I have loved the Western movies that have been coming out recently. 3:10 to Yuma, There Will Be Blood, and now The Assassination of Jesse James. I saw a preview for this movie and it looked amazing. But then it never got released anywhere close to me. BUT I finally got it on Netflix.

The story is pretty straight forward with that title and all, or so I thought. The plot didn’t actually tighten up until 2/3rds of the way into the film, but it is two and half hours which works out. I was honestly felt lost on and off, but the main thing was the relationship between Jesse James and Robert Ford, and with that this succeeded. When you first meet Robert Ford he is very child like but wants to break out of that shell, and show that he is special and can be part of the James crew of bandits. You soon find out about his childhood and his fascination with Jesse James as a kid, and now he his walking with the legend he looked up to. But he starts to show signs of maybe being obsessed and taking that obsession to another level. Jesse James is introduced just as you would expect, a cold-hearted outlaw. You soon learn of some complications with his health and his overall state of mind. I almost feel like there’s nothing to spoil here but there is a lot more to see in this film then the title would suggest.

Brad Pitt is fucking perfect as Jesse James. He plays the different aspects of the character to perfection. He stirs a variety of emotions both individually, and sometimes within one scene. He is funny, scary, and emotional all to perfection. This is one of my favorite performances(along with Pitt as Tyler Durden). Casey Affleck as Robert Ford comes in very close competition to Pitt’s performance. Both James and Ford go through a transformation throughout the film, but Affleck’s is a much bigger transformation. He goes from an underdog trying to show his talent, to reliving his childhood obsession with James, to becoming someone he never intended to be. The title implies, no, straight out tells you that he is a coward but he wasn’t always a coward. His dreams became twisted with a harsh reality and obsession which turned against himself. Affleck shows some of the greatest emotion and delivery I have seen in a film.

There are other smaller roles in this film that are performed probably as best as they could be, but Pitt and Affleck are clearly the standouts. Even if you don’t get what is quite going on right away, it all clears up by the last third of the film and you will be satisfied by the end. Watch it if for Pitt and Affleck’s performances if for nothing else because it is well worth it.