In Continuum.

We all know, roughly, the story of Jesse James. The most infamous robber in the history of America is played by Brad Pitt this time, supported by a strong supporting case, including Casey Afflect, whose role as Robert Ford earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor this year. The story begins with the last robbery at Blue Cut where a train is approaching with a stash of money Jesse and his gang intends to rob. Here we are introduced to the rest of Jesse James' gang, with the new bird Robert Ford poking around the businesses of the big boys like a lost child. This is as far as action in this film goes, and after that the film sinks into a series of self-indulgent conversations between the characters. Robert Ford grew up as a big fan of Jesse James, and to be part of his gang perhaps never surfaced in his wildest dreams. However, the journey from the biggest fanatic to the person responsible for the assassination was never properly addressed in the film, giving it a severe lack of emotional involvement for my part. Jesse James is a man bigger than himself, amplified through legends and exaggerated through myths. He is still a man of blood and bones, still a man with feelings and ideas in real life, instead of the cold-blooded murderer the media had put himself out to be. So amidst his own conflicting personalities and identities, he sinks deeper and deeper into the world of suspicion and deception, and ultimately dies under the pistol of Robert Ford, the coward.

I do not think that by revealing the fate of Jesse James in the last paragraph should be considered a spoiler, since the title pretty much spoiled it all for those who have never heard of Jesse James and his infamous life, and death. That part of the title was very well addressed, the assassination part, but the same cannot be said about the other two. I mean, director Andrew Dominik seems to have a good eye for character development, and he has a very interesting perspective on various human conditions that we might have failed to see. However, he elected to tell the story in a way that does not work on screen, and this singlehandedly caused the film to implode into itself. It seems to me that the director wanted to tell the story like a storybook of some sort, focusing its attention on, not just the two title characters, but also all the other secondary characters in the story. From the gang members to the families of the title characters, it became very hard for the viewers to feel a need to invest any emotions into these characters, who weren't very interesting to begin with. Their performances were top-notch, but their characters were either under-developed or over-shadowed that of the title characters. The supporting cast should always remain in the supporting role, and never attempt to fight the spotlight away from the main characters, a mistake the director committed in this film.

The above dominated the most part of the middle section of the film, spending nearly two hours just to explain the relationships and conflicts between the secondary characters, which didn't give much progression to the story between Jesse James and Robert Ford at all. It is difficult for the audience to accept that a fan just decided to kill his idol overnight, something which the director did not handle very well. After all, the reason behind his assassination was probably the most confusing yet interesting aspect of the film. He did not bank on that at all, which I thought was a wrong move on his part. With that said, however, the 'coward' part of the title was very well taken care of at the last act of the film, which other films usually fail at. In this section of the film, we see Robert Ford being seen, not as a hero that killed Jesse James, but a coward that shot him in the back of his head because he was too afraid to do it in any other methods. It was intriguing to see how Robert Ford was never hailed as a hero, something which the director could have spent more time on. In fact, the film could have been nearly an hour shorter if not for the misdirection in the middle section that went astray.

However, the film is not without its strengths. The performances here by the actors were stunning to say the very least, from the main cast to the supporting cast. Brad Pitt was utterly amazing as Jesse James, and certainly put the Colin Farrell version of the great robber to shame. His internal struggles to realize his true identity and to live with his legacy was painful to watch - in a good-acting sort of way. You felt his pain and his life of contradictions, and how a man with such fame and truckload of crimes in history is supposed to lead a normal life with a proper family. Casey Affleck gave an equally good performance, though I thought it wasn't anything spectacular as the critics have put himself out to be. The supporting cast included Sam Rockwell, which is one of my favorite actors. Only this time, he felt underused and a little redundant, which is a real waste of talent I must say. 

Cinematically, this film is beautiful to watch. From the moment the screen lights up and you see the soaring clouds moving in fast-forwarded speed, you know that this film is going to be a visual treat somehow. The first thirty minutes that involved the Blue Cut train robbery was probably some of the best cinematography I have seen ever since Road to Perdition and American Beauty, which were both done by Conrad L. Hall. Everything from the highlighting of the characters' faces in the dark, to the approaching of the train, to the silhouette treatments - utterly, amazing. It is a shame that the story and the directing failed to live up to the astounding and remarkable cinematography, which could have made this film a better movie experience. Compared to a recent western film that I saw, 3:10 to Yuma, this film felt like an eternity to sit through despite the brief moments of brilliance and, of course, the great musical score. 

Throughout the film, there was a nagging feeling that the filmmakers were trying too hard to craft it into an Oscar winning movie. You could feel the kind of tone and mood they were aiming for with every shot, as if there is an Oscar template to follow. Everything just seemed a little pretentious at times, and it wasn't helped that the story line was both unfocused and badly shaped. It is way too long, and it is way too protracted and oblique to represent a film with a genre such as this one. It is a little sad to admit this, but the narrative in this film was actually better at story telling than any part of the film without it. Voice-overs are usually intrusive in nature, and in a supporting role at best. But the narration in this film certainly outshone the main story line, and that is how you know that your film is not going to be very well received. 

This film has a rather positive rating across the board, but I have to say that I failed to enjoy this film in its entirety, but perhaps in segregated scenes with those beautiful cinematography like eye-candies. Being overly long and overly pretentious at times, this film is not recommended for viewers who are into quality movies or those who just wants a good film on a Friday evening after work. Though a lower rating than Juno, however, I still think the latter was worse simply because of the expectations I had before the film, and the disappointment in contrast afterwards.

6.5/10