“I always thought it would be better, to be a fake somebody... than a real nobody.”
-- Tom Ripley from The Talented Mr. Ripley
“Can’t figure you out. Do you want to be like me or you want to be me.”
-- Jesse James from The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
On the surface, The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford looks to be another bid to resurrect the Western genre. I think it is safe to say that James Mangold’s solid remake of 3:10 To Yuma has done that job. Actually, the Western got revived by the wonderful Australian film, The Proposition, back in 2005. John Hillcoat’s 19th Century Outback film proved that Peckinpah and Leone’s Western spirits are very much alive in the 21st Century. There have been several wonderful films made about the James Gang such as Samuel Fuller’s I Shot Jesse James, Philip Kaufman’s The Great Northfield Minnesota Raid, Walter Hill’s The Long Riders and several others. Walter Hill’s The Long Riders remains one of my favorite versions of the Jesse James myth. It remains the definitive Walter Hill film. As far as westerns are concerned, Andrew Dominik’s The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford is more along the lines of Robert Altman’s McCabe And Mrs. Miller. The film has a Terrance Malick beauty about it. This comes as no surprise as I learned that Mr. Dominik was a second unit director on Terrence Malick’s The New World. Expert cinematographer, Roger Deakins, shoots this film and it shows. It may be the most beautiful looking film of the year. Nick Cave and Warren Ellis contribute a haunting score that captures the paranoia and the intensity that was Jesse James life.
Mr. Dominik’s previous film was Chopper with Eric Bana. He played Mark "Chopper" Read, a legendary criminal in Australia. If you are familiar with Chopper, Dominik’s take on Jesse James makes perfect sense. Brad Pitt’s portrayal of Jesse James makes even more sense in this light. Dominik has done a wonderful job adapting Ron Hansen’s novel to the screen. It is a maddening and uneasy film to watch at times. At 160 minutes, the film does veer off track, but when it focuses on the two main characters, it works as an excellent character study. This is far more than an art house western. I am not sure if western is the right term. The film owes more to The Talented Mr. Ripley, Misery, Single White Female and Persona than any films in the Western genre. Why those films? The relationship between Pitt’s Jesse James and Casey Affleck’s Robert Ford reminds me of the characters and relationships from those films. The film is perfect for our times as it uses the celebrity of Jesse James to study fame and idol worship. It is a timeless indictment of our celebrity obsessed culture. Our obsession with celebrity comes under Dominik’s microscope. The film’s treatment of the allure of criminals gives it a touch of the gangster genre.
The film takes place during the last days of Jesse James. Jesse James is played by Bard Pitt. Yes, Brad Pitt was one of the bright spots of last year’s Babel. But as Jesse James, this is a side of Brad Pitt we have not seen in a long time. We saw glimpses of this side of Pitt in Fight Club and Twelve Monkeys, but you would have to go back to the 1993 film, Kalifornia to see this Brad Pitt-- the crazed serial killer, Early Grayce. Whenever Pitt is onscreen, it is something to behold. His Jesse James is psychotic, paranoid, spiritual, intelligent and charismatic. We see his full range of brutality early in the film during one of the gang’s last train robberies. As the infamous outlaw in the film, he wants to plan new robberies, contend with a bounty on his head and worry about betrayals within his own gang. It is a tour de force performance from the actor. Whenever we want to admire the outlaw, he gives the audience reminders to be frightened of him when we least expect it. This is one of Brad Pitt’s best performances since Twelve Monkeys. He deserved the best actor award at this year’s Venice Film Festival.
Dominik does romanticize Jesse James early on. In some ways he has to for the character of Robert Ford to work at all. Robert Ford is played by Casey Affleck. Affleck’s Robert Ford is a cross between Matt Damon’s Tom Ripley from The Talented Mr. Ripley, Andy Serkis’ Gollum from The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Kathy Bates Annie Wilkes from Misery covered in a Judas Iscariot wrapping. As Robert Ford, Casey Affleck is at his pathetic best. Robert Ford is the ultimate fan. He wants nothing more than to join his brother, Charley (Sam Rockwell) and ride with the James’ Gang. He has been collecting nickel books and newspaper clippings about Jesse James his whole life. This is Robert’s ultimate goal in life. In the beginning of the film, he is interviewed by Frank James played Sam Shepard. I did not get the impression Frank was too keen on having him join the gang. He senses something is not right with the boy. Robert Ford idolizes Jesse James. He eventually ingratiates himself into the gang. It helps to have an inside track. It seems eerily appropriate that Brad Pitt plays the idolized bandit. Brad Pitt knows a thing or two about fame, stalkers and the trappings of celebrity. The third act of the film belongs to Casey Affleck. He creates an uncomfortable persona. His wretched desire to become famous contaminates his very essence. His Robert Ford possesses the same kind of mentality of Matt Damon’s Ripley in The Talented Mr. Ripley. He seems uncomfortable in his own skin. He starts to see Jesse James for who he really is; he thinks by killing Jesse James, he will be treated as a hero, but there will be no applause for him. Robert Ford comes across as the greatest traitor since Judas. Robert Ford’s life will be as hollow as ever.
The film has some fine supporting performances. The one thing I can say is that Mary-Louise Parker has a thankless role as Zee James, Jesse’s wife. She does not have much to do. Maybe the success of Weeds will give her better roles, but one can understand why she accepted the part in this prestige project. The always reliable Zooey Deschanel plays Dorothy Evans, but she is hardly in the film. Sam Rockwell continues his winning streak as Charley Ford. He has great chemistry with Affleck’s Robert. San Shepard is very good as Frank James. One could say that when he exits the film, the classical Western elements leave with him. The film becomes darker giving way to a last day’s mentality. Still, the film comes to life whenever Casey Affleck and Brad Pitt are onscreen. It is an intense character study. It is an absolute blast to watch Pitt and Affleck interact with each other. The mythology of heroism comes undone as we watch these two characters do their dance-- one turning into his constellation and the other becoming dust.
Andrew Dominik has directed a film for our times. In an age of intense and hyper news cycles, the public has an insatiable thirst for all things celebrity. We cannot get enough of it. Every form of media caters to the celebrity whirlwind. One can only imagine how many friends Jesse James would have on his MySpace page. Robert Ford would probably make a fool of himself on YouTube. Robert Ford’s obsession with Jesse James is the ultimate case of hero worship gone badly. The beauty of Dominik’s film is that nothing really changes. We are obsessed with fame.
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