Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck and the film ‘The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford’

A recent conversation with Airport Friend and others brought me to a Western directed by Andrew Dominik set in the aftermath of the American Civil War. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007) includes true characters from the history of the United States, including outlaw Jesse James, criminal Robert Ford, and others. This blog post highlights the movie and offers a rating on whether you should tune in.

(From left, Mary-Louise Parker as Zee James, Brooklynn Proulx as Mary James, Dustin Bollinger as Tim James and Brad Pitt as Jesse James in the film The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford).

The core family of Jesse James, as portrayed by Brad Pitt, included Mary-Louise Parker as Zee James as well as the children James and Mary. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford shows Jesse James to ostensibly be a caring and engaged father with his kids, as additions to the leader of thieving outlaws that he also was. A part of the crew when Robert Ford introduces himself into the fray was Robert Ford‘s brother, Charley Ford.

(From left, Casey Affleck as Robert Ford and Sam Rockwell as Charley Ford in the film The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford).

Casey Affleck portrays Robert Ford whereas Sam Rockwell portrays Charley Ford. Charley Ford is the elder brother of Robert, which proved to be part of the way Robert Ford was introduced to the outlaws. Robert’s initiative with the brother of Jesse James, namely outlaw Frank James, played a part.

(From left, Sam Shepard as Frank James and Garret Dillahunt as Ed Miller in the film The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford).

The notion of family grows through the telling of the movie The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. Frank and Jesse James were legends in their own rights, which were parts of the credibility and backstory many viewers brought into this film. The brothers had mutual trust and respect, though the mechanics of that story weren’t the feature narrative of this film. The relationship of Jesse James with the band of outlaws, including Ed Miller as portrayed by Garret Dillahunt, proves to have significance.

(From left, Paul Schneider as Dick Liddil and Jeremy Renner as Robert Woodson ‘Wood’ Hite in the film The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford).

Jeremy Renner played Robert Woodson ‘Wood’ Hite, first cousin to the James brothers in film. Dick Liddil, as played by Paul Schneider, joins in the story in furtherance of the background story for Jesse James and Robert Ford. Comic relief as well as that backstory were the relevant takeaways I made for the presence of Liddil and Hite. Without giving things away, and generally thinking audience’s can infer as they please from the titles of movies, I perhaps have pointed you to an important dramatic thrust for the film.

(From left, film director and screenwriter Andrew Dominik with Brad Pitt on location for the film The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford).

I appreciate the film The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, which works hard to establish mood through narrative and cinematic storytelling. Music, imagery, and camera angles all contributed to the move the notion of Western away from some of the conventional movie tropes that accompany the genre. Addressing whether the proposed assassination was in fact cowardly, and the perceptions of some key characters within the storyline helped. How the final threads came together were weaker for me than I would have preferred, though I do like the path Andrew Dominik took in getting us to what finished fully. I rate The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford at 3.75-stars on a scale of one-to-five.

Matt – Saturday, October 10, 2020

Ben Affleck, Jeremy Renner and the film ‘The Town’

There were the towns of Charlestown and Boston in Massachusetts, serving as characters just as distinctly as the people in the movie The Town (2010). There was the notion of burglary, armored trucks, banks, and Fenway Park serving as places just as distinctly as there were funny notions of love and loyalty. Finally, there was the resolution of criminals fighting the notion of getting pinched, all tracing back to the source story for The Town, based on the book Prince of Thieves by Chuck Hogan.

(Slaine as Albert ‘Gloansy’ Magloan, Ben Affleck as Doug MacRay, Jeremy Renner as James Coughlin, and Owen Burke as Desmond Elden in The Town).

Ben Affleck plays Doug MacRay and Jeremy Renner plays James Coughlin, two members of a four member burglary set with Albert ‘Gloansy’ Magloan and Desmond Elden who rob banks and armored vehicles for money as a relatively practiced and efficient burglary ring having grown up in Charlestown. There is definite history among the group, which is revealed with suggested emotional depth through the film that at times is undersold by through the film. Renner is especially convincing in his role as Thomas Coughlin.

(Jon Hamm as FBI S.A. Adam Frawley, left, and Rebecca Hall as Claire Keesey in The Town).

After a burglary that includes the taking of a hostage, Doug MacRay takes a love interest in Claire Keesey, as played by Rebecca Hall. Seeing connections between this robbery and the organization run out of the flower business of a notorious criminal run by Fergus ‘Fergie’ Colm, FBI S.A. Adam Frawley and Dino Ciampa land pursue the criminals.

(Pete Postlethwaite as Fergus ‘Fergie’ Colm, top, and Dennis McLaughlin as Rusty in The Town).

Jon Hamm plays FBI S.A. Adam Frawley while Pete Postlethwaite plays Fergus ‘Fergie’ Colm. Rusty aids Colm in the delivery of messages as appropriate in service of the larger enterprise, which eventually turns to the large heist that The Town is leading towards. The backdrop of their illegal enterprise is the store front of the flower shop run by Colm.

(Left to right: Chris Cooper as Doug MacRay’s father Stephen MacRay, Blake Lively as James Coughlin’s sister and Doug MacRay’s baby mother Krista Coughlin, and Titus Welliver as Dino Ciampa, who grew up in Charlestown and serves as assistant to Adam Frawley in The Town).

Besides the tension of the burglary, pressure to pull another heist, and the pull of family for James and Krista Coughlin, Doug and Stephen MacRay, and the added love angle with varying degrees of loyalty, time spent in jail, and the depths that some have gone and will go for these different constructs, that the past as well as place pull on each of these run deep. Even FBI man Dino Ciampa bears baggage in this tale, and the resonance is there and communicated well. That many of these culminate in a crowning jewel to these points in the story of Boston, and specifically Fenway Park, reinforces the larger pathos of many of these points in the story.

(Ben Affleck as Doug MacRay and Jeremy Renner as James Coughlin outside Fenway Park in The Town).

The emotion and the questions underpinning this story are winners governing the telling of this story. The hardest part for me in giving the telling of this story through the cinematic telling of The Town is that I never believed Ben Affleck as Doug MacRay. It simply feels to me like Affleck wanted this role along with the telling of this story too much. The emotion of the character, as I felt, never really rang true for me. For a movie that I very much wanted to rate higher, I give The Town 3.50-stars on a scale of one-to-five.

Matt – Monday, December 16, 2019