Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Sam Shepard, Mary-Louise Parker, Paul Schneider ... see more see more... , Jeremy Renner , Zooey Deschanel , Sam Rockwell , Garret Dillahunt , Brooklyn Proulx , Dustin Bollinger , Joel McNichol , James DeFelice , J.C. Roberts , Darrell Orydzuk , Jonathan Erich Drachenberg , Torben S. Hansen , Alison Elliott , Lauren Calvert , Kailin See , Tom Aldredge , Jesse Frechette , Pat Healy , Michael Parks , Ted Levine , Joel Duncan , James Carville , Stephanie Wahlstrom , Adam Arlukiewicz , Ian Ferrier , Michael Rogers , Calvin Bliid , Sarah Lind , Nick Cave , Matthew Walker , Michael Copeman , Laryssa Yanchak , Hugh Ross

"The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" delves into the private life and public exploits of America's most notorious outlaw. As the charismatic and unpredictable Jesse James (Brad... read more read more... Pitt) plans his next great robbery, he wages war on his enemies, who are trying to collect the reward money – and the glory – riding on his capture. But the greatest threat to his life may ultimately come from those he trusts the most.

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73% liked it

81,022 ratings

Critics

75% liked it

161 critics

R, 2 hr. 40 min.

Directed by: Andrew Dominik

Release Date: October 5, 2007

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DVD Release Date: February 5, 2008

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Flixster Reviews (14,482)


  • August 25, 2010
    This had the unfortunate timing of coming out in the same year as both No Country for Old Men and There Will Be Blood, relegating it to "lesser arthouse" in the public conscious. And in a way, I do agree with that tag - but only partially. Really, most of The Assassination of Jes... read morese James is lovely. The music, deep and droning, works in hypnotic tandem with Robert Elswit's light-suffused cinematography. He seems to find beauty in every landscape, forest and backyard he shoots in. Andrew Dominik, as you've probably read, is most influenced by Malick here, in his visual prioritization of nature over his human subjects. Where he could have stood to take a page out of his book is infusing his work with a little more subtlety. The movie has a provocative, unique central thesis to work with - the creation of celebrity in the Western era and how it influenced our current perception of celebrity now - but toward the end, as if it has lost confidence, it starts hitting its points harder and harder and with not much grace. I don't necessarily have a problem with the length or pacing, as most seem to, but the movie definitely loses a great deal of push after its titular act and railroads toward a thematically predictable conclusion.

    I wasn't huge on the lead performances - Casey Affleck seems more content to go with semi-stupid than naive, as a basic reading of the character might have suggested (one character in the movie goes so far as to call him smart, which: hell naw). Brad Pitt is mostly cardboard and generally not the first person I'd notice in any given scene. It's an interesting treatment of the character, as a shadow lurking in the corners of the room, quietly observing and only peeking out to interact sometimes, but Pitt to me isn't an actor who's particularly great at introspection so much as loud, boisterous voice work and physicality. His two best turns, in Burn after Reading and Inglourious Basterds, are consequently two of his most colorful. Their support is uniformly great - Sam Rockwell more or less steals the show.

    At the end of the day, this didn't at all deserve its failure. It's wonderful work, endearing and rich though not completely perfect. I wish Dominik was a more prolific director, because I think he exhibits some great versatility as a filmmaker and it would be exciting to see him work more often. You can't rush art, I guess.
  • August 1, 2010
    "I'm saying his sins will soon find him out. I'm saying his cup of iniquity is full. I'm saying Jesse James is a desperate case and may require a desperate remedy."

    The Assassination of Jesse James is about as far from your usual shoot 'em up, bang bang, western yarn, as you can... read more get. It's actually a character study. A particularly measured and slowly paced character study. But it works on the strength of it's great cast and solid writing.

    Casey Affleck is wonderful as the unsettling, perpetually nervous, shifty man whose unnerving obsession with Jesse James is uncomfortably obvious. And Brad Pitt continues to impress, as he presents James as a charismatic, dangerous, and paranoid man (though his accent was a little iffy, at times). The supporting cast of talented actors like Sam Rockwell, Paul Schneider, Garret Dillahunt, Mary-Louise Parker, and Zooey Deschanel, are all favorites of mine, and all perfectly suited for their roles.

    Some people may find the pace to be a little TOO glacial, but it would be a crime for a movie with cinematography this beautiful to be rushed. Some of the backdrops and settings are almost breathtaking, with snow-covered roads and fields of grain featuring colors that seem almost too vivid to be natural. I'm a big fan of striking scenery in my movies, and this one certainly gets my seal of approval in that regard.

    The Assassination of Jesse James is not a short movie, and it's value is in the interactions of the characters, not in the robberies (which we see only one of) and romanticized-western action that we would normally associate with the near-legendary story of the James Gang. I found it to be worthwhile. It raises questions about what makes a man a hero or a villian in the public's eyes, and by the end of the film, we find out that those questions have interesting answers.
  • July 11, 2010
    An anti-western that does not exalt it's infamous subject as countless other tales have done but does so from a sympathetic, humanistic vantage. Reminiscent in tonality of McCabe and Mrs. Miller with the style of a Terrence Malick film. It's a subtle, generous study of places and... read more characters which allows for nuances to emerge, especially in the two leads. Jesse James is seen as a paranoid and reticent, obviously a byproduct of his celebrity-like prestige; Ford is tortured, childish, and obsessive. Ford wants to join his posse because he idolizes Jesse but when he realizes that Jesse isn't like the legend portrayed in his penny novels, he holds him in increasingly murderous contempt. The film explores the way in which we view history and it's myths and how it becomes the way we gauge ourselves; art and illusion become inextricably intertwined with reality and have become increasingly so in this technological age. The Assassination of Jesse James is a film that is both prophetic and about itself.
  • March 8, 2010
    I enjoyed the violence and the dusty cowboy docu-film yet although the characters were very rigid the acting of Brad Pitt sort of put a dampener on watching overall. He has done and looks better in other movies.
  • February 18, 2010
    This just might be the best of the modern "western resurgence" films (so far). Director Andrew Dominik is a frustrated painter and it shows in his beautifully lighted interiors and his vast landscapes. One could almost watch this film with the sound off and not lose interest.
  • February 5, 2010
    The most underrated film of 2007, is certainly one of it's best. A sweeping western about the fine line between truth and fiction, a homage to The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance. This film containes some of the most spectacular cinematography I have seen in years.
  • January 2, 2010
    Everything about this film is pretentious: its length, its title, the length of its title...

    My girlfriend analysed it as a sort of selfportrait by a creator who feels pulled down by his necessarily inferior surrounding. I was just too bored to analyse it, so I'll say I agree wi... read moreth her.

    A few good thing appear in this film arguably, the set is stunning, the supporting cast, starting by Casey Affleck is very good, there are often some beautiful images, but at the end of the day I just don't care about all those stuff. I do not care about the emotional life of a train robber, however successful. I do not care about a train robber looking melancholically to his daughter's shoe. I just do not care about this 3 hours-long masturbation, if anything because it might be painful.
  • October 1, 2009
    Its long, its slow in places but it?s very stylish and the last 20 minutes are fantastic. It makes up for sitting through endless inaudible dialogue and some mediocre acting. Affleck & Rockwell steal the show. All in all, I thought it was a very good film but not quite the 5 star... read more film I was expecting!
  • July 11, 2009
    This movie is long and slow moving but it is required to reveal the intensity of the characters. It's very dark and violent. Brad and Casey give excellent performances. Brad is the outlaw Jesse James in the latter years of his career. Casey is Robert Ford who admires and follows ... read moreJesse only to kill him.
  • April 27, 2009
    As a rule, I'm not a big fan of "westerns".

    But when they are more along the lines historical "period pieces" and made with as much passion and attention to detail as this film...what's not to love?

    This was a very slow and methodic look at the last few months of the life o... read moref the "notorious outlaw" and the people who surrounded him during those final days. And ultimately at the life of his murderer Robert Ford, who (in my opinion) was more of a sociopath then a "coward".

    This might not sound interesting to some...but the acting is top notch and I found myself rivited by every moment of this film. It was beautiful to watch (on several levels) and you really get a feel for the lives of these people and the social mores of that period in history.

    I found it interesting, sad and haunting.

Critic Reviews


Bob Mondello
October 18, 2008
Bob Mondello, NPR.org

Writer-director Andrew Dominik takes his time with the story, but his languorous pacing allows tension to build -- and permits the actors, Affleck in particular, to add nuance and depth to characters ... Full Review

Christopher Orr
September 18, 2008
Christopher Orr, New Republic

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is the story...of the moment in America when myth was murdered by mere celebrity and we were left, perhaps forever, with only the latter's me... Full Review

J. R. Jones
January 4, 2008
J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader

Moseying along for 160 minutes, this revisionist western by writer-director Andrew Dominik makes a wan attempt to present the Jesse James legend as the dawn of celebrity culture in America. Full Review

Lisa Kennedy
October 20, 2007
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post

Awesome splendor and a striking essay on celebrity reward those who brave the 2 1/2-hour run time. Full Review

Roger Moore
October 18, 2007
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

It's a view of the West beyond the myth that's worth enduring, if not relishing. Full Review

Tom Long
October 12, 2007
Tom Long, Detroit News

The one thing you're not supposed to do during a Western is doze off. Full Review

Terry Lawson
October 12, 2007
Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press

Assassination is contemplative and quiet, a studied film that is surprisingly engrossing, not to mention so handsomely made you can hardly take your eyes off it. Full Review

Jeff Strickler
October 11, 2007
Jeff Strickler, Minneapolis Star Tribune

A better title might have been Jesse James in the Age of Pop Therapy. Full Review

Peter Hartlaub
October 5, 2007
Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle

Who would have imagined that a biopic about Jesse James could be so boring? Full Review

Chris Vognar
October 5, 2007
Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News

This is a 160-minute art Western, and if you're up for such a beast it is a glory to behold. It's gorgeous, but rarely for the sake of mere gorgeousness, and languorous, but never listless. Full Review

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Facts


  • 3 April 1882 Jesse James was assassinated by Robert Ford. Casey Affleck and Shia LaBeouf were up for the role of Ford opposite Brad Pitt. Shia LaBeouf was deemed too young for for the part.

The Assassination... : Watch Free on TV


The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford Trivia

The Assassination of Jesse James ... Trivia


  • Which of these films has Naomi Watts NOT starred in?  Answer »
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