The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
I sat down with Jeremy Renner over a year back to discuss The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and one thing that caused me to worry was the actor's claim that the film had pages of dialogue. Yes, strong dialogue usually means a strong film, but too much of it in a dreary setting could lead to a borefest.
My fears were realized the first time I watched the feature trailer for Jesse James. There was a lot there, but nothing exciting or thrilling. Could this ensemble Western really be as boring as the trailer suggested? I pondered the notion and ended up watching the trailer again a day or so later and to my surprise found myself more excited about the film. All the characters look great and Casey Affleck looked like he was on deck of proving himself as an Oscar-caliber actor. There is definitely a lot to be seen here, as long as it isn't boring.
Movie Reviews: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
The first reviews have surfaced for The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford and both seem to confirm what I thought -- the film is good but might put to sleep those looking for action and excitement. As some early buzz suggested, the dialogue is also hard to understand; making it that much harder for one to keep awake.
Variety
A ravishing, magisterial, poetic epic that moves its characters toward their tragic destinies with all the implacability of a Greek drama, "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" is one of the best Westerns of the 1970s, which represents the highest possible praise. It's a magnificent throwback to a time when filmmakers found all sorts of ways to refashion Hollywood's oldest and most durable genre. Given the narrower current notion of what constitutes an acceptable commercial feature, Andrew Dominik's daring high-wire act will trod a very hard road to find secure theatrical footing, which suggests Warner Bros. might do best to nurture it in a small number of theaters in the hope that critical support and word of mouth will snowball into long runs and a slow rollout.
THR
At the heart of "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" lies an obsessive, destructive relationship between two disparate yet oddly similar men. One will eventually kill the other. Yet this fascinating relationship gets smothered in pointlessly long takes, repetitive scenes, grim Western landscapes and mumbled, heavily accented dialogue.
The self-indulgence begins with director Andrew Dominik and infects much of the cast, who deliver meandering, unstable performances. Instead of contemplating the moral dimensions of novelist Ron Hansen's portrait of outlaw paranoia and obsession, a viewer can only think of waste -- the waste of good material and themes, a talented cast and, most crucially, the viewer's own time.
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford has a limited release on September 21st.
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