Wow. What a performance from Pitt. At one point, the voice over, done to perfection by Hugh Ross who obviously went to the school of "less is more", at one point, he mentions Jesse is afflicted with an ailment which makes him blink his eyes all the time. That's when you notice: Pitt hasn't blinked once since the movie started. It's as though he's taking stock of every thing around him, each last detail - drinking it up. Now you know why, of course; he's made noises about not making movies any more. "There's a time to bow out gracefully, and maybe they'll ask me back every once in a while (sic)."

There's a caged restlessness to him that you're not sure is him or his character. If it's Jesse, then you can tell that living a life like his has begun, as it only can, to take it's toll. He sees law-men everywhere, he moves often and uproots the small family he started. He and his brother quarrel and his brother takes off for the northern states to - of all things - sell shoes. But when we see how Jesse is treated when he is finally killed, we realize Frank had a real reason to go, and we can't blame him.

And Jesse knows, he knows his time is coming; he knows his friends are starting to plot against him. He uncovers plot after plot after plot. And finally, he becomes tired, knowing that he will never have any real life. He will never have any real friends. Nothing in his life will ever be real but the love he has for his wife and children and he doesn't want them hurt in any confrontation by some unscrupulous name-seeker.

So he at least sets himself up with a someone he knows. And takes off his guns, claiming not to want to scare the neighbors. And then "notices" a picture which "shore is dusty", thereby turning his back and giving Robert Ford the perfect shot.  Even so, Ford hesitates for a moment, for this was his hero. But then, he, a name-seeker too, pulls the trigger on the new nickel-plated gun Jesse just gave him the day before.

The humiliations visited on James in death were a little sickening. Whatever else, he was a father, and it would follow to his children someday. I found it a little hard to take.  (I CAN HAVE A CHICK MOMENT WHEN APPROPRIATE!) Then Ford takes to the stage with a nightly retelling of how he killed the infamous Jesse James. He seems surprised when people are not as admiring of his courage as he feels they should be. Well, the man did shoot an unarmed man in the back, even if said unarmed man set himself up.

Public opinion began to turn on Ford, and Jesse James began to be touted in legend as a Robin Hood of the West. Ford found a woman who he could talk to and really confide the truth of the matters to, opened a bar in the middle of nowhere, and tried to remain as anonymous as he could. But there was no remaining  anonymous when you're the man who killed Jesse James.

And he himself was murdered, shot down in his own bar. But all the hype surrounding Jesse's death didn't come for Robert Ford's death. And maybe that was a blessing and maybe it was a curse, but it was the sad, lonely truth of life in the Wild West.

A couple of things - Casey Affleck - got the looks and the  talent in the family, sorry Ben. In this piece, he is absolutely superb, and he is no scene stealer - he leaves room for others in the screen. Brad Pitt more than he ever was in 12 Monkeys is so broken in this movie you want to just reach out and push everyone away and protect him. Again, like in 12 Monkeys, he plays a head case, but it's a different sort - it's the sort that comes from being pursued and knowing your best friend would put a bullet in you for a reward and still going out to see if that friend has made that switch from friend to enemy yet. It's the kind of performance you will rarely see, and if you don't see it, you're a bigger fool than I thought you were.

Idiot.