The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

Witwiwo:

What: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

When: Monday, November 30th.

How Long: 2 hours, 39 minutes.

Where: The TESTOSTERHOME.

Why: Because I love me some good western filmage. And we got it in the mail from Netflix.

Expectations: Pretty grand because I few people had talked it up to me, and because Casey Affleck and Brad Pitt are good actors.

What I ate while I watched: A pizza and a peanut butter ice cream sandwich.

Director: Andrew Dominik

Starring: Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Sam Rockwell, Jeremy Renner, Paul Schneider. And a really small role for Zooey Deschanel.

Two Sentence Synopsis: In his mid thirties, Jesse James grows more suspicious as he begins to feel is mortality. Robert Ford, a long time admirer of James becomes jealous of him after working with James, assassinates him, and deals with the consequences.

My Favorite Part or Quote was: When Jesse cried after beating the crap out of a teenage boy. It really showed his conflicted nature well.

How Fun It Was: Very entertaining, not very funny.

The Positives: The acting was immaculate. Casey's role as Robert was a-daggum-mazing. And Brad Pitt once again put on a wonderful display as the notorious Jesse James.

The Negatives: The length and speed. It was a loooooong film. It was worth it, but it was really difficult to get going. If I didn't love westerns so much I would have been tempted to give up after and hour and a half. Also, there was no gunslinging, unfortunately.

The Theology, Philosophy, Morality or Application: Some good points about mortality and trust. Really questioned issues of pride and arrogance as well.

One thing I learned: Something I already really knew: pride is no way to live your life, nor is it a way to make life changing decisions like assassinating a well-known criminal.

The ending: The best part. In the middle, I was not really a fan of where they were headed, and was doubtful if I would end up liking the movie. But the end, with the "denouement" after Jesse's assassination was really enjoyable.

Go/Rent/Buy/Don't: It's definitely worth the rental, and if you want to have a 2 hour 39 minutes film in your collection, then this is a good one to get.