Before I get into a full review, I need to take a breather and put my thoughts together so I can get everything out in this review without confusing the crap out of the reader (you).  The film (which I am not going to keep mentioning by the ten-word title) is based on a novel by Ron Hansen.  I really might go back and check it out now that I have seen the movie and my interest has been peaked. 

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The Plot: Jesse James (played by Brad Pitt) is probably the most known outlaw of all time.  He was definitely extremely famous and people either loved or hated him, though people’s true feelings about the man show up at the end of the film.  James was famous for robbing banks and trains with his family and bunch of sidekicks. 

The film picks up in the year of 1881 and all of the James brothers are dead except for Jesse and Frank James (played by Shephard).  In the beginning of the movie, the audience gets to see the James’ last robbery known to this date.  It took place on a train in Blue Cut, Missouri.  The film's narrator, who was amazing by the way, talks about how this is going to be their last robbery. 

One thing I wanted to point out about the narrator was how he basically told the audience everything that was going to happen before it happened; yet the movie was still extremely intense.  It was definitely a unique way of telling a story. 

Going back to the plot, when the James brothers did their robberies, they always had extra sidekicks to help them perform the robberies.  A group of these sidekicks were the Ford brothers, one of which was Robert Ford.  Robert Ford absolutely idolized Jesse James.  As a kid, he read his books and didn’t want anything else but to be like Jesse James; an outlaw and a gunslinger.  As the film progresses, it delves more into his obsession with the guy.  Ford wants nothing more than to be by Jesse’s side during his robberies. 

After the robbery in Blue Cult, Missouri, the James brothers decide to call it quits.  The only problem is that Jesse James starts to go crazy.  He starts going after all these men who he feels have double crossed him.  A lot of them had, considering that Jesse was one of the most wanted men at the time.  A lot of people were trying to arrest him for the award.  There really is a lot going on in this film, but to make this plot description shorter, Robert Ford is "invited" by the police to arrest/kill Jesse James for a pardon on his family’s robbery charges.  There is a reason why this is brought to Ford’s attention but I do not want to give that away.  Just know that Jesse James is a scary man and it is thought to be impossible to kill him.  You also have to deal with the tension that Robert Ford idolized this man and now has to kill him. 

The Review: Overall, out of the 97 films I have seen this year, this by far the most perfect (flawless) film I have seen all year.  I never thought I would see a film put together as well as this.  I honestly have no complaints whatsoever.  People might ask; well the film is two hours and forty minutes.  Isn’t that a problem?  NOT A CHANCE.  It goes by so quickly. 

A lot of people have been saying that Casey Affleck steals the movie.  I would have to disagree with that.  Though he was absolutely amazing, Brad Pitt takes the cake on that one.  You would think that because he is such a big star, that it would be hard to look past that and watch a character.  That is not the case at all.  Jesse James was just a pure bad-ass and Brad Pitt shows you that perfectly.  If Jesse James says, “Let’s go for a ride,” just know that you are cooked.  The guy could predict anything and Brad Pitt really brought that character to life for me.  I wouldn’t have know how to picture the guy at all, but know I have the perfect imprint.  I don’t want people to get me wrong about Casey Affleck.  His facial expressions throughout the film are priceless.  He did a phenomenal job.

I mentioned above that this was the director’s first big movie.  According to IMDB.COM he did a film back in 2000 called Chopper and that is it.  It seriously looked like this guy has been directing films for twenty years.  The publicist for the film was telling me before I saw it that the cinematography is amazing.  Well, amazing is not the right word.  It was astounding.  I really loved how during a lot of the scenes, he would keep the right and left side of the screen out of focus and the middle of the screen would be in focus.  To tell you the truth, unless I interview the guy, I have no idea exactly what he was going for, but it worked. 

Another thing I wanted to point out was the music.  It was perfect and dead on to what was happening on screen.  It sounded like they used xylophone for a lot of the score.  I definitely need to buy that soundtrack.    

I have not seen a better film all year and I see Brad Pitt and the film both being up for Oscars.  As I am sitting here writing this review, I honestly CANNOT think of anything negative about the film.  At one point, I was kind of thinking that it should be over by now, but then it would just keep going and get better. 

The Verdict: I give the film 5 BDK’s because it definitely needs to be seen in theatres and NEEDS TO BE SEEN RIGHT NOW.  You will not regret spending money on the film at all.  By the end of the film, I had a huge pit in my stomach because of the anxiety that it caused me.  There were just so many intense moments.