MANILA, Philippines?Make no mistake, the film is slow. Writer/Director Andrew Dominik takes his time to present the events that lead up to the slaying of the infamous outlaw Jesse James. The movie is carried out with a narration and fantastic cinematography. The camera manages to capture the wondrous beauty of a wild America just coming into the 20th century. In every shot, there is so much texture of wood and vegetation?the world is full of life just as Jesse James is about to come to the end of his. But Dominik takes his time. Many sigh in relief at the sight of the end credits, ?I thought it wouldn?t end!? During the movie, one can overhear the crowd exclaiming, ?I wish someone would assassinate him already!?

?The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford? is a portrait of two very different men. Jesse James, a man coming to terms with every crime that he has committed, his growing reputation and infamy, and the possible retribution that will follow. Robert Ford, a young man coming to terms with meeting his hero, discovers his own ambitions and dreams despite his own anonymity. These are two very real men whose lives are being explained to us. Presenting it in less than two hours would have been a travesty.

Just like Jesse James

Brad Pitt, without question, acts up a storm. He injects a youthful playfulness into his Jesse James but there is a frightening aspect that lies behind his eyes. At any moment, he is capable of great violence and brutality. He is charming yet you are afraid of him. Casey Affleck?s Ford is alive only in his own little world inside his head. He speaks weakly, almost muffled, eating his words. He doesn?t look people in the eye. It is only when he speaks of his idol that he actually sparks up; more so when speaking to Jesse James directly. Affleck manages to sneak up on Pitt and deliver an even more surprising performance, almost stealing the show completely.

Critics all over have declared the film with the unbearably long title (which Pitt insisted on keeping) a masterpiece. They have called it ?epic? and a cinematic ?poem.? If you can muster the patience to sit through it, you will be treated to the world of a famous bandit?s descent into paranoia and his utter demise at the hands of a man who loved and admired him, gained his trust and then, later, betrayed him. America has no legends of their own other than that which they can adopt from the American Indians. Their history began with the pioneers; their legends are far more recent than that of older civilizations. Jesse James is America?s Robin Hood; a fascinating portrait of the world at the edge of the modern era, in a land that is fresh and new. So, if Pitt and Dominik want to take their bloody time to tell that story, they can take as slow a pace as they damned want.

Career best

It?s not as if Pitt needs the money. He can always do ?Ocean?s 14? if he needs to make a quick buck, but since the start of his career Pitt has always gone for the quirky and dark roles. He never played up to his looks but rather went against type. He has always been trying to prove that he could act. Well, Jesse James may not have given him that Oscar nomination to affirm his position in Hollywood, but people will look back at ?The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford? and will remember it more than just being that ?unbearably slow film.? They?ll remember it as being one of the best in Pitt?s career.