I have grown to love many westerns in the past 3 years, from The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance to 3:10 to Yuma. Though I think Clint Eastwood is easily the most influential person in the western movies business, I think that Brad Pitt, Sam Rockwell, Garret Dillahunt and Casey Affleck are now among the platinum members of that list. Director Andrew Dominik really crafted an amazing film after the book by Ron Hanson.

In 1882, Jesse James was assassinated by the coward Robert Ford. This is the story of the events that led up to this moment in history, along with the study of the character of all of the involved members of the new James Gang in the early 1880’s.

The best aspects of the film are the great direction, the even better screenplay, and the acting. Casey Affleck and Sam Rockwell, Casey Affleck, and Brad Pitt did amazing jobs, but supporting actor Garret Dillahunt did possibly the best performance in a western movie that I have ever seen.

Bottom Line: A+. The best western that I have ever seen, and the best ensemble cast that I’ve ever seen.

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