Sightlines · reception

How The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford was received

2007 · Andrew Dominik · The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford on Sightlines

The arc

Dumped by Warner Bros after years of post-production battles over the cut, it flopped hard in 2007 despite Brad Pitt winning Best Actor at Venice — and has since climbed to near-universal 'masterpiece' status, routinely called one of the great westerns of the century.

What’s debated

The eternal fight is pacing: is it hypnotic, elegiac slow cinema or 160 minutes of gorgeous nothing — with a side quarrel about Roger Deakins losing the 2007 cinematography Oscar for THIS.

Its footprint

The night-time train robbery is one of the most screenshotted, referenced sequences in modern cinema, the Nick Cave & Warren Ellis score gets borrowed by trailers and documentaries everywhere, and the absurdly long title is a meme unto itself.

Where it stands

The definitive 'criminally underrated at the time' film — a Letterboxd darling and the crown jewel of the '2007 was the greatest movie year' argument.

Did you know? Roger Deakins was Oscar-nominated for Best Cinematography twice in the same year — for this AND No Country for Old Men — and lost both to There Will Be Blood.

A Deleuzian reading of The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford →