The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)

The real star of "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" isn't Brad Pitt as the famed gunslinger/robber or Casey Affleck as the troubled young man who killed the outlaw. It's Roger Deakins, the cinematographer who lensed another marvelous release of 2007, "No Country for Old Men," along with recent classics such as "Fargo."

Deakins' camera moves in and out of focus to recreate the haze of memory, and the opening robbery of a night train is a stunning show of action in the dark, and use of backlight and shadow. Stark and seemingly lit naturally throughout, it is hands down the best-looking film of 2007. It's a breathing, moving Americana oil painting.

Luckily, and quite miraculously, the film itself holds up to these images. Directed and written by Andrew Dominik, this is a work of art, and a deep psychological take on not only two different men, but America itself. As the film opens, Frank (Sam Shepard) and Jesse (Pitt) James have recruited a group of men to rob the night train. In the group are two brothers, Charles (Sam Rockwell) and Robert Ford (Affleck), the latter of who is alternately obsessed, jealous and infatuated with Jesse. Frank wants the hyper, dull man gone, but Jesse takes him in. The robbery is a disaster and the James brothers split for good, with Frank skipping town for the South and Jesse remaining nearby for a brief period with his family under an assumed name.

Jesse keeps Robert Ford with him as an aid, despite the 20-year-old's penchant for asking silly questions and awkwardly hanging about. The catch soon comes to a stomach-punching realization: Jesse is dying from old wounds and a variety of late 19th century illnesses at the old age of 34, and he wants to die. Not slowly in bed, but standing up, and with his skull blown open. And he knows Ford, with enough time, pressure and envy of fame, could be his killer/savior.

The film has a leisure 160-minute epic that takes its time telling the story of the Fords and their relationship with Jesse. This film isn't for the itchy, trigger finger viewer who wants an explosion every minute, and a spectacular shoot out to cap the film. It bears down for long minutes on a person as they sit and contemplate life, or slowly interrogate and then later kill a person. As in "Days of Heaven," the camera may sit idly on a field or a house taking in the view. In one long, wonderful sequence, Robert walks about Jesse's home, touching Jesse's clothes, drinking from his water glass, lying in his bed and imagining himself as the famed outlaw. It's an unsettling scene, tinged with sadness. And the slightest bit of homosexuality.

The stark, authoritative narration by Hugh Ross is startling at first, but it settles in to give extra shading to a scene and add an air of authority. This movie is the first in a long time that feels like I've been reading, or hearing, a fleshed out historical novel about real people and real events. That's not to say every scene felt needed -- one subplot involving a lower-rung outlaw/James cousin and his affair with a married woman played as unneeded. But a second viewing, which I hope to do soon, may change that.

The 40s-something Pitt could be seen as miscast as a 34-year-old, but it works. His Jesse if well past his true age, tired and worn out by crime, murder, wounds, fame, illness and the dead-end life he's chosen. The man is simply tired of living. Pitt mines Jesee's rage and sorrow for all his worth; he also makes a laugh around a table tingle with the dread of violence. Affleck, so good as a P.I. in "Gone, Baby, Gone," is spectacular here. He plays Ford as a lost young man, so hen-pecked and marginalized his entire life he can barely function. Affleck's Ford is difficult to watch: twitters, darting/dodging eyes and stammering abounds, but it's a phenomenal and brave performance.

Is Ford a "coward" as the title suggests? At one point, and at the last possible second, he kills one man to save another. It could be heroic, but it plays more as desperate and panicked. His cowardly crown comes not from his traitorous actions, but from his fear to actually live life for himself. He's a 19th century lonely fanboy, without an Internet connection. When Ford does finally capture a low-rent infamous fame, at story's end, it is hollow. As was Jesse's fame in his own end.

Fame and glory is the over-riding theme here, enforced by the sick tour that profiteers use to show off James' rotting corpse on ice. The violence in the movie is realized with an eye toward absolute realism. The sounds of gunshots are the true quick, light pops of the day, not blasting explosions of most films. Bodies fall like sacks when hit, rather than flying back or somersaulting about when shot, and wounds look ugly. Dead bodies seem to reek. Dominik has crafted a fine film, and I can't wait to see what he has in store for us next.

Nick Cave, who co-wrote the brilliant, dark music score, appears as a musician mocking Ford through a bar room ditty in a darkly funny scene. That man is a god, and for all I know might be God. But a seriously Dark One. This is one of 2007's best and smartest films. I must own this film one day. A