A Lack of Brevity

I recently watched the long-titled film, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. A Western from a few years ago starring Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck in the two title roles, I reckon you can guess the subject matter.

The film has some very nuanced performances in it, from the leads as well as a supporting cast featuring Sam Shepard, Mary-Louise Parker, and a number of other faces that would be recognized by regular movie watchers. You really feel the menace of Jesse James at choice moments in the film, and strongly identify with the hero worship of Robert Ford.

There are many striking visuals in the movie, from a holdup of a train in the black of night to sweeping wilderness vistas blanketed in snow. And also of particular note are the few select moments of violence in the movie. While the film depicts only a handful of violent acts, each manages to pack a jarring realism.

But oh, that script. It's not very clever, but yet incredibly apt, for me to say that this movie is perfectly described by its unwieldy title. It runs two hours and forty-five minutes, seems like it should be maybe half as long, and feels like it might be twice as long. It meanders rather aimlessly for longer than most movies' entire run time. Only about 20 minutes from the end does it finally start to get truly interesting. But it's not remotely enough to redeem the boredom inflicted so far. I'm not even sure if there's really a more compelling movie that could have been edited from this one; there's really only about five minutes' worth of interesting material before that final push.

If you like your Westerns slow, this might be the film for you. I suppose the television series Deadwood has conditioned me to expect more. I rate this movie a D+.