Favorite Westerns, No. 49

 


Do you like a good Western? It's a classic genre in film and this year I've decided to look at some of my favorite Westerns. So, join me each Friday as I count down my favorite Westerns from No. 50 to No. 1.

Narrator: He was ashamed of his persiflage, his boasting, his pretensions of courage and ruthlessness; he was sorry about his cold-bloodedness, his dispassion, his inability to express what he now believed was the case- that he truly regretted killing Jesse, that he missed the man as much as anybody and wished his murder hadn't been necessary. 

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
Starring: Brad Pitt, Casey Affleck, Sam Shepherd, and Mary-Louise Parker
Director: Andrew Dominik
About: The plot of this film is right there in the title, mostly. This probably isn't an obvious choice for the list, nor would it be on everyone's list. In fact, this is probably a film that is a bit polarizing. Dominik directed and wrote the script based on the novel by Ron Hansen. It's a movie about the famous outlaw Jesse James, and Pitt is great in that role. But, really, it's about the man who killed him, Robert Ford. Affleck inhabits that role and brings the character to life in a unique way on the screen. Dominik's film is slow and takes its time to breathe. It runs more than two and a half hours, often resting in the quiet character beats. It's not an action-packed Western, nor is it always an exciting film. But I love the way it drinks in its subjects and offers some beautifully shot sequences. The performances are solid and it's long been a film that stuck with me over the years. That's why it made the list.

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