My father used to take me and my family to Creede, Colorado every August for vacation. I had heard my mother sing what she remembered of the song about "the dirty little coward that shot Mr. Howard..." and I learned to sing snatches of it myself. Jesse James and his brother Frank were the first real heroes of American folklore that I identified in my life.



This movie is a Masterpiece. Brad Pitt embodied the legendary character of my imagination perfectly. Sam Shepard was so powerful as Frank James that he will stay in my memory maybe forever. Casey Affleck and Sam Rockwell were mesmerizing as the Ford brothers and Paul Schneider as Dick Liddel was great too. As long as Affleck remains careful in choosing his roles, nothing can keep him from being a very important star.



The Cinematography was wonderful: lighting, framing, etc. just superb, and some of the backdrops are surreal. When Jesse and Charlie stop on the frozen lake and see the trout darting below the ice I caught myself sitting on my hands to keep warm.



And finally, the pace. I've read more than one complaint amongst these other reviews about the pace. Sorry, fellow viewers, but the pace is an integral part of the beauty of this film.