An avant-garde and fancy way of filmmaking is blaringly showcased in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, but unfortunately it doesn't help the snail-paced film cure its lack of excitement. While the acting is first rate, most notably from Casey Affleck, the storytelling is bland and uninteresting, and the characters themselves are almost painful to watch. Horribly ill-placed narration and unnecessary dialogue makes this the most graceful failure in filmmaking of 2007.

Set around 1867 through 1881 in Blue Cut Missouri, Frank James (Sam Shepard) and Jesse James (Brad Pitt) plot a train robbery to take place in the dead of night. Envious newcomer Robert Ford (Casey Affleck) pleads with the brothers to let him participate, but they shrug off the annoying young man. The town has tolerated the constant robberies conducted by the James gang for 12 years, and as the brothers slowly ease away from their criminal lives, Ford is steadily brought into Jesse’s life, mingling with other gang members including Wood Hite (Jeremy Renner), Jesse's cousin, and Dick Liddil (Paul Schneider). During the course of many years Robert Ford would eventually plot to assassinate Jesse, and instead of the fame he hoped to earn, he is left with regret and shame.

A bizarre fisheye lens is used to introduce nearly every scene and it gets so noticeably unusual that it only detracts from the story. Additionally, fading out of each scene gives the impression that The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is no better than a poorly shot TV movie. If that wasn't bad enough, a melancholy-voiced narrator (that sounds like Timon from The Lion King) casually prefaces every other scene with long, adjective-laden poetic words that make you want to sit back, close your eyes and listen to the film instead of watching it. These annoying bits of unconventional filmmaking will please some, especially fans of art house and independent cinema, but here with a decent budget and big-name actors, it feels horribly misplaced.

A lot of the film’s focus is on scenery and settings, and one can't help but wonder that if all of that was removed, the movie would be under two hours. Nearly every scene is connected to another with a sped-up shot of clouds, the sky, grass and other bits of landscape and inanimate objects, and they do little for the story, and oddly don’t even establish the locations in which the next shot takes place. Another aspect that couldn't match less is the music, which might be good on its own, but is completely contrary to the Western theme we expect. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is perhaps the least western Western ever made – and that’s not a good sort of singularity.

The cinematography is strikingly vivid, with snow-covered ranches, sunny vistas and foggy forests, but again, not only does it not look like it is part of the same movie, but it’s hardly relevant when most of the action takes place indoors.

Essentially the film is about a little man, infatuated with the notorious excess of another, who is unable to achieve a similar level of greatness. He wishes to replace Jesse James, but in the end opts to remove him in the hopes of gaining recognition for the accomplishment. He is left with regret when citizens and friends despise him for what he has done and is scorned by those who admired the infamous criminal. What could have been an involving character study is dragged down by the endless use of artful techniques, which abolishes any chance at entertainment. The film's purpose is fully recognized only at the conclusion, but it's an arduous and trying journey to get there.

Special Features

There are no special features whatsoever on this single-disc set.

- Mike Massie