Length can kill an ego-driven project but not this one. This movie is languorous, thoughtful. I never wanted it to hurry. Reminded me very much of Peter Carey's novel
The True History of the Kelly Gang (this one is based on a novel too, one by Ron Hansen which I haven't read). For the most part an examination of the fear and tension caused by a faltering Jesse James as he "says goodbye to the gang," the film's last moments shed light on James' afterlife as an icon as it springs from new mass media: photography, newspaper. Breathtaking cinematography by Roger Deakins, who often works with the Coen Brothers. Now I can put a name to a man who so gorgeously captures both winter and summer desert landscapes (Fargo, No Country For Old Men). Casey Affleck is immensely likable.
Length can kill an ego-driven project but not this one. This movie is languorous, thoughtful. I never wanted it to hurry. Reminded me very much of Peter Carey's novel The True History of the Kelly Gang (this one is based on a novel too, one by Ron Hansen which I haven't read). For the most part an examination of the fear and tension caused by a faltering Jesse James as he "says goodbye to the gang," the film's last moments shed light on James' afterlife as an icon as it springs from new mass media: photography, newspaper. Breathtaking cinematography by Roger Deakins, who often works with the Coen Brothers. Now I can put a name to a man who so gorgeously captures both winter and summer desert landscapes (Fargo, No Country For Old Men). Casey Affleck is immensely likable.
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