Film Recommendation

[Sweder]

I knew who Robert Ford was because (gulp) Elton John featured a number on one of his albums called 'and I feel like a bullet (in the gun of Robert Ford)'. I also thought the story of the Jamers Gang had been done to death and so stoically avoided watching this, choosing to record it when it popped up on Sky movies. Last night, gorged on a weekend of endless sport, I elected to kick back and see what messrs Pitt and Affleck had made of it all.

What a pleasant surprise. One train robbery aside this was nothing like the blood-letting re-make I'd expected. Told at the kind of leisurely pace which infuriated and captivated audiences of No Country For Old Men, Assassination spins an intriguing yarn, painting fullsome portraits of the protagonists. Pitt excells as the brutal, frightening James. His prescience spooks the audience along with fellow cast members. We're told that James suffered from perforated eye-lids which caused him to blink more often than usual. This adds to his snake-like countenance as he slithers up on people, making them jump with a well-time quip. Pitt delivers a chilling portrayal; even his trademark shit-eating grin looks like a hungry predator baring his teeth.

Affleck is creepy as the eponimous assassin. An encyclopedic knowledge of the history of the James gang and a disturbing affection for the bullying gangster that borders on homo-erotic worship in places masks an inner steel revealed in flashes of temper. Sam Rockwell offers noble support as the elder Ford brother. One scene, where a fight breaks out between the Fords and one of James's cousins and any number of close-range shots miss their target, enhances the authenticity. No miracle one-shot kills here; it's tense, sweaty, visceral stuff; you can't help squirming in your seat as powerful young men fuelled by pent-up rage seek to tear one another apart.



Ultimately James was undone by his no quarter, rule-em-with-a-rod-of-iron philosophy, the fear in his men so great that the only way out for them was to kill him. The narrative continues past James's very public funeral tour (where he was laid out on ice so thousands could see he was dead), showing the Ford brothers conduct a nation-wide stage tour where they re-enacted the outlaw's last moments. Robert Ford was damned a coward, and to make matters worse never forgave himself for killing the man he worshipped. 'You wanna be like me, or you wanne BE me?' asks Jesse early on. The flashed look in reply is the perfect blend of worship, love and hate. The question remains unasnwered, even at the end of the film.

I marvelled at the quality of the production; the sepia-tinted shades, the real-life, this-is-how-it-must-have-been rugged quality of the towns and muddy, hoof-churned trails. What struck me most was the interminable loneliness, the endless quiet, of life for an outlaw. As the credits rolled the film's richness was partly explained by the prescence on the production team of Ridley and Tony Scott, though I'm sure Pitt himself had a lot to say about it. Oh and the haunting soundtrack comes courtesy of one Nick Cave.

A (very) slow burner I would highly recommend, especially for fans of quality Westerns.