The Western has never been my favorite film genre.
Personally speaking, I‘m not much enthralled by horses and guns. But when one
of my screenwriting students (someone whose tastes run from science-fiction to
Pixar) called The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford his
number-one film of all time, my curiosity was roused.
What I discovered is that this 2007 film, written and
directed by an Aussie named Andrew Dominik, has not had an easy history. After
first, things seemed to be going well. Based on a 1973 novel, the project attracted the attention of Brad
Pitt, who served as a producer along with Ridley Scott and others, while also
taking on the Jesse James part.. Casey Affleck was cast in the essential role
of Robert Ford, known to history as James’ killer. Others in the cast included
the noted character actors Sam Rockwell, Sam Shepard, and Jeremy Renner, along
with Mary-Louise Parker and Zooey Deschanel.
(Fun fact: political maven James Carville is briefly visible as the
Governor of Missouri.) The great Roger
Deakins worked his magic as the film’s cinematographer, making the wintery Old
West (played in the movie by the Canadian outback) look gorgeous indeed, while
evoking a grim sense of foreboding.
But the money men in Hollywood wanted a film with less
brooding and more action; they were not about to accept a director’s cut that
lasted more than three hours. When the film finally surfaced, critics were
impressed, but audiences were largely not. Though there were Oscar nominations
for Affleck’s performance and Deakins’ camera work, the movie was a bomb at the
box office.
I’m not sure how the DVD I watched compares to the
theatrical version. Yes, the film is long (160 minutes) and it’s sometimes hard
to keep track of all the complex relationships within Jesse James’ criminal
band, but I was never in the least bored. One of the film’s glories is its
complex characterizations, exploring men who are both violent and gentle, cocky
and self-loathing, greedy and generous. The focus is on the period in which
James is a national figure known for daring exploits that include train robbery and lots of killings. At times he seems a happy man, enjoying a loving family and
the adulation of young admirers. Elsewhere, he appears to be restless and almost
suicidal. As for the nineteen-year-old Robert (“Bob”) Ford, he is awed by
James’ exploits and thrilled by the opportunity to be part of the gang
surrounding his hero. That is, until he decides, for several complex reasons,
to kill the great man. (Ford’s emotional state can’t help reminding me of Mark
David Chapman, whose hero-worship of John Lennon led to Lennon’s shocking 1980
murder.)
In the film, the killing of Jesse James itself sparked all
sort of questions in me. Ford’s actions are ambiguous enough that it’s not even
entirely clear that he’s the successful shooter. (I watched that scene twice,
and I’m still not sure exactly what happened.)
What is definitely clear is that even in death Jesse James had
far more power than Robert Ford. His dead body was photographed, and copies
sold to eager purchasers all over the country. After which, on a bed of ice,
his corpse was shipped out for public display to a fascinated (and
ticket-buying) public. Meanwhile, looking for their own slice of the pie, Bob
Ford and older brother Charles (Rockwell) booked themselves into theatres where they clumsily
re-enacted the shooting, in front of audiences that refused to be impressed.
Both brothers ultimately reached bad ends, drawing no attention whatever from
the fickle public.
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