The pivotal scene of the movie, the climax as it is, when Jesse James is about to be assassinated by Robert Ford is one of the great moments of cinema. The music swells, but not in the usual way. It does not shout out; it only highlights the moment. The suspense is clear, but it is not pointed out. Everything is seemingly silent, still.
Jesse James, played by Brad Pitt (in a subdued yet sublime performance), looks at his daughter, and her shoe that fell off. He takes off his gun belt- as according to historical accounts- which holds two revolvers (a little off: it was four guns). He looks at a picture, and says it looks dusty. Everything is still as slow, the pace does not quicken. The camera actually bothers to cut to a chair he takes to climb up. He is face to face with it as he sees Robert Ford (Casey Affleck, his performance of which has earned him an Oscar nomination) takes out the very gun that he gave him as a present. And then the shot is fired.
Director Andrew Dominik adapts the book of the same name not as a typical western but as a 160 minute long examination of humanity and nature, with meticulous attention to every detail and nuance. The cinematography is in fact crucial to Jesse James, since the movie is everything about what you see. It is beautiful yes, shot in the most aesthetic locations, but it is more than just a pretty movie. The beauty of nature is contrasted to the dark intentions and thoughts of almost every single character.
In fact this movie could be classified as an anti-western: devoid of almost any gunfights or action of any sort. It is dialogue and detail driven. It is literally an art film. And for someone watching this, the whole movie would be either: very boring, or bordering on hypnotic. It is also a demythologizing, deconstructing movie. Jesse James is not the larger than life criminal gunslinger that he is. He is portrayed as a man burdened with doubt and insecurities, an apparently "macho" man who weeps, and who shoots his enemies in the back.
The other significant character, Robert Ford, is largely the person who is in the shadow of his venerated hero, much obsessed with him. As Jesse James asks, "Do you want to be like me, or do you want to be me?"
Some have pointed out a homoerotic longing by Ford for James. Perhaps; but a much simpler explanation would be that he is simply frustrated because he can never be as great as James would be. In the end, Ford overcomes his hero worship to proclaim, "He's just a human being." (A very retrospective insight, in my opinion)
Of course, there are the side stories, but they are mainly filler for the bigger picture. But they are never distracting nor boring and like all good side stories, help develop the main characters.
You would have thought that there would be nothing else to say after Ford shoots James, but the movie still continues, following Ford and how he became to be known as the "coward" to shot Jesse James (which is precisely the irony, because throughout the film we are treated to Ford's bravery in getting close to the man, and everyday living under the possibility that he may be found out and killed).
This film, I think, would perhaps have attracted greater attention had it been release at its original planned date (September 2006). In the end it was released almost two years after it was completed, and was unfortunately overshadowed by the likes of No Country for Old Men (the "modern" western) and 3:10 to Yuma, another great western. But again, unlike Yuma, Jesse James spurns formula (yes, Yuma still followed the tradition of the westerns even while giving it a breath of fresh air).
This is truly one of the best movies of 2007 (I had no other way of putting it), and a most worthy addition to a genre that I have unfortunately paid little attention to. It might not be your cup of tea, but if you are willing to sit back and just...watch (and not expect the movie to go out of its way to entertain you), then you will see a most beautiful film being played out, something akin to just sitting down on grass and watching nature unfold.
See the trailer here.
Jesse James, played by Brad Pitt (in a subdued yet sublime performance), looks at his daughter, and her shoe that fell off. He takes off his gun belt- as according to historical accounts- which holds two revolvers (a little off: it was four guns). He looks at a picture, and says it looks dusty. Everything is still as slow, the pace does not quicken. The camera actually bothers to cut to a chair he takes to climb up. He is face to face with it as he sees Robert Ford (Casey Affleck, his performance of which has earned him an Oscar nomination) takes out the very gun that he gave him as a present. And then the shot is fired.
Director Andrew Dominik adapts the book of the same name not as a typical western but as a 160 minute long examination of humanity and nature, with meticulous attention to every detail and nuance. The cinematography is in fact crucial to Jesse James, since the movie is everything about what you see. It is beautiful yes, shot in the most aesthetic locations, but it is more than just a pretty movie. The beauty of nature is contrasted to the dark intentions and thoughts of almost every single character.
In fact this movie could be classified as an anti-western: devoid of almost any gunfights or action of any sort. It is dialogue and detail driven. It is literally an art film. And for someone watching this, the whole movie would be either: very boring, or bordering on hypnotic. It is also a demythologizing, deconstructing movie. Jesse James is not the larger than life criminal gunslinger that he is. He is portrayed as a man burdened with doubt and insecurities, an apparently "macho" man who weeps, and who shoots his enemies in the back.
The other significant character, Robert Ford, is largely the person who is in the shadow of his venerated hero, much obsessed with him. As Jesse James asks, "Do you want to be like me, or do you want to be me?"
Some have pointed out a homoerotic longing by Ford for James. Perhaps; but a much simpler explanation would be that he is simply frustrated because he can never be as great as James would be. In the end, Ford overcomes his hero worship to proclaim, "He's just a human being." (A very retrospective insight, in my opinion)
Of course, there are the side stories, but they are mainly filler for the bigger picture. But they are never distracting nor boring and like all good side stories, help develop the main characters.
You would have thought that there would be nothing else to say after Ford shoots James, but the movie still continues, following Ford and how he became to be known as the "coward" to shot Jesse James (which is precisely the irony, because throughout the film we are treated to Ford's bravery in getting close to the man, and everyday living under the possibility that he may be found out and killed).
This film, I think, would perhaps have attracted greater attention had it been release at its original planned date (September 2006). In the end it was released almost two years after it was completed, and was unfortunately overshadowed by the likes of No Country for Old Men (the "modern" western) and 3:10 to Yuma, another great western. But again, unlike Yuma, Jesse James spurns formula (yes, Yuma still followed the tradition of the westerns even while giving it a breath of fresh air).
This is truly one of the best movies of 2007 (I had no other way of putting it), and a most worthy addition to a genre that I have unfortunately paid little attention to. It might not be your cup of tea, but if you are willing to sit back and just...watch (and not expect the movie to go out of its way to entertain you), then you will see a most beautiful film being played out, something akin to just sitting down on grass and watching nature unfold.
See the trailer here.
No comments:
Post a Comment