Summary: Everyone in 1880s America knows Jesse James. He's the nation's most notorious criminal and is being hunted by the law in 10 states. He's also the land's greatest hero, lauded as a Robin Hood by the public. No one knows of Robert Ford, at least not yet. But the ambitious 19-year-old aims to change that. He befriends Jesse and rides with his gang. And if that doesn't bring Ford fame, he will have to find a deadlier way. Friendship becomes rivalry and the quest for fame becomes obsession.
Staff Review
This film has been the most persistent and poignant imagery and story telling that I have encountered since Talk to Her and Happy Together. This film is haunting, beautiful, and oddly timeless. Character worship is the basic plot, and this love and obsession eventually leads to the death of a legend. That mythology and hype is elevated and revered today to an unhealthy level. I am drawn to this relationship of adorer and adored. Brad Pitt exudes a charisma that is undeniable and Casey Affleck refutes it with his quivery nervous dialogue that evokes an appreciation of his cleverness and embarrassment of his transparent intentions of grandiose delusions. Film and painting implicitly put the viewer in a voyeuristic role. There is typically a distance between viewer and what is viewed. Perhaps fueled by long pauses that emulate real time (this is a long film) or the awkwardness of Pitt and Affleck’s interactions, this film engaged me more than other films.
There is a stillness and attention to composition that reminds me of a couple phenomenal painters:
Andrew Wyeth and Michael Borremans. The palette is similar with these painters and this film. This film is going to make me trade my brushes for lenses.
Check Availability
