In this essay, I will be exploring the film, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Andrew Dominik, 2007). I will look at how factors, such as; the industrial, historical, technological, ideological etc, affect and shape the film and its narrative structures. I will create ideas based on the research and the study of the film. With this I will explain how the factors makes the audience feel and the impact it has on them. To successfully achieve this, I will be applying the information that I have learnt from the principles of storytelling unit to my chosen film. In this critical analysis, I will be exploring how Andrew Dominik creatively tells the story.
In this section, I will be exploring the technological, industrial and ideological changes. Thomas Edison’s Kinetoscope enabled people to watch short videos through a scope. This originally cost a nickel to watch. This invention was created in 1889. This was made for single use only and this then proceeded on to becoming projected onto a screen. This was the creation of the first ever cinema room. However, matching sound to the video wasn’t developed until 1927. The First World War had a lot of influence on technology as masses of machines were being made for multiple purposes. Then came the Production Code. This had a massive influence on how films were observed, until 1968 when it came to a stop. The digital revolution came along, which allowed new sound technology came to cinemas. The 21st century is mainly dominated by technology. Actually, people are quite dependent on it, this means that there had been a massive drop with the classic 35mm traditional camera. Now only 20% of films are celluloid and the rest are digital.
Within the film industry, there’s sometimes a misunderstanding about what the purpose of storytelling assumes linearity in the emotional reaction to a film. Most films want to inspire or send out a message, but have simplistic characters missing interiority. Usually, it is natural for an audience member to follow the emotion of the character. However, when opposing to the one-dimensional response of living vicariously through the film, you feel guilt or shame for an antagonist after the psychopathic character like Jesse James feels bad after doing something wrong. Him showing this emotion, does not then make the character good, just shows that he has potential.
The development of the character is being told through the historical story and this starts with a hard-boiled voice-over. This kick starts the plot by telling us how he treats his family and shows what kind of man he is. Thus, giving the audience an uncertainty about the character of Jesse James. The cinematographer also keeps the camera within a racking focus shot but never to focus until pointing out the unfortunate conditions that the character was in. A couple of minutes in, after talking about his conditions, they then introduce the reasoning for him to become the stories antagonist, having a bright, beautiful sunset turn into a dark horrible storm. This could also foreshadow the historical story within a couple of seconds.
There is a great deal of information on the story of Jesse James as this was a true story. History first tells us that during the 1860 and 1870s, they believed he was or should had been the protagonist. Books, articles and stage productions romanticises his robberies and murders, however, dumbing them down. These stories painted him as a ‘Robin Hood’ character where he would ‘steal from the rich and give to the poor’. He was looked as a hero rather than a dangerous outlaw. This made him and his story more famous than he actually should had been. So, the trouble that the film explored is what happened what myth meets reality. It was written with preconceived conceptions and biases to help manipulate the audience.
The first robbery scene shows the gang in a positive light, however, when scene carries on into the train, where the robbery is happening, the positive light then disappears. There is no longer dynamics slowed down in perfectly composed shots, instead thrown into chaos with violence and stationary shots.
A great thing about the film is how it defies the time and location of the Western. It focuses on Americas best known outlaw. The film slowly becomes a character study of Robert Ford looking at how far the desired to be more than what others expect of you can take someone. This is enhanced by the back ground that we know about him, being the youngest of his brothers and taking the front of bulling. He wanted to change this image and earn the respect through Jesse James, him being the youngest of his family too. Robert is featured in every film and when he isn’t, it is flashbacks that he will eventually hear. This makes it easy to sympathise with Robert Ford.
Robert following the leader Jesse James, and all his robberies and murders, it shatters his prospective of what Jesse did, but it didn’t change the way he looked up to him as he still sees him in a positive light. This is reflected in the cinematography, Roger Deakins employs a technique that creatively uses a flaw in old vintage lenses. He also used customised lenses to help him gain the same effect, this is called lens aberration – this causes a unique gradual blur, which shows that our perceptions can often be wrong. And Robert’s perception of Jesse was wrong. Although, Robert Ford’s name was known, he was only known for killing Jesse James. Jesse remained the protagonist.
Just from the title of the film, you can tell what the genre and the context is. The style and the decisions with choosing the right mise-en-scene, sound and cinematography are vital when making the film. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Andrew Dominik, 2007) is a historical, dramatic crime western which is based on a man named Robert Ford wanting to be in gang of Missouri outlaw, however he starts to become more bitter about the leader Jesse James.
In the scene that I think really captures these decisions are when Dominik uses mise-en-scene and sound to create a convention of tension. Dominik has done this by enhancing the diegetic sound like the creaking of the floor boards and the heavy footsteps. This is because all the senses are heightened when scared and when focusing on one thing, it becomes a lot louder. Dominik has made this a discordant sound and the audience knows that things are going to take a turn for the worse. This is a build up to the main shot which is James’ reaction to what is said in the newspaper. Instead of filming James’ facial expression, Andrew Dominik has decided to film the reaction through a pushing shot of him stirring black coffee and suddenly dropping the spoon for when he comes to a realisation. Jesse James having black coffee signifies his strength and dominance. Black coffee also indicates that he is low-maintenance, he notices subtle complexities and he emanates authority.
A key point in the scene is the focus of Robert Ford sitting on the rocking chair in the corner of the room. As soon as he sits down he starts to rock back and forth to comfort himself. Sometimes rocking is seen as a sign of insanity, this would be the vulnerable gesture that I would use to describe Robert Ford’s character because his personality is described to be in a mental state. Rocking back and forth on the chair could also represent him as infant like, he also shows this feature as he gets up from his dining chair and mumbles, then walks off in a sulk and slumps himself down on the rocking chair. He also becomes very fidgety and cannot sit still when Jesse James then walks into the room.
Jesse James strolls into the sitting room and stops in the doorway. Light surrounds him and creates a halo effect. The light represents purity, innocence and an appointed hero. Light symbolises truth because light reveals and gives a sense of hope. Light is then used very strongly throughout the rest of the scene which leads up to the shooting of Jesse James. In this scene he is portrayed as the victim rather than the murderer.
Andrew Dominik emphasizes on the non-diegetic sound of Mary, Jesse James’ daughter, singing a song called ‘The Water is Wide’. Mary singing the song shows purity, innocence and loneliness. The singing becomes diegetic on the most important part of the song. ‘The water is wide, I cannot get over, Neither have I wings to fly’, these words represent Jesse James’ situation. He is alone, isolated and stuck. The song goes on to say, ‘I leaned my back against an oak, Thinking it was a trusty tree, But first it bent and then it broke, So did my love prove false to me’. In this verse, the trusty tree represents Robert and Charlie Ford because Jesse thought he could have faith in them but the tree snaps and this shows the betrayal of the brothers towards Jesse James. The Ford brothers deceive Jesse and he realises that has nothing so relinquishes. This is a hint of him surrendering. Whilst the audience is listening to the song, Jesse James focuses on a child’s discarded boot. This displays loneliness, uselessness and has no purpose.
As a representation of total surrender, Jesse caringly and purposely places the guns down onto the sofa. He does this slowly to show that he is gracefully retiring in a ceremonial way. A bit like “Hara Kiri”, when samurai loses their battles. It’s a form of suicide due to loss/submission.
The audiences notice that when Jesse James turns away from the window, everything is done in a calm peaceful manor and it enhances the apprehension and suspension of the viewer. The spectator also notices that he either ignores the brothers or he doesn’t want to look at his executioners. He then focuses on the picture of a horse, that has been placed above eye-level. The picture is of a proud, standing horse and this happened to be one of Jesse James’s favourite horses named Skyrocket. The word ‘Skyrocket’ means to explode high in the air as a fire work or signal. The image could have been placed high either because of the name of the horse or Jesse James had so much admiration and love for the horse, he wanted it to be praised and adored as much as he did.
Jesse James says, “Don’t that picture look dusty,” which is odd because someone from that distance wouldn’t be able to see dust from that far away. Yet, Jesse James proceeded to get a chair and stand on it, facing the picture. To the audience, it looks like he is about to commit suicide/hang himself. Everyone who gets murdered by Jesse James gets shot from behind and the leader is actually shot in the back of the head. Usually he would kill people by sneaking up to the and shooting them before they could defend themselves. When Robert Ford gets informed about Jesse, they say “Don’t let him get behind you.” Another thing about the shooting is that all the victims are unarmed, Jesse James carries on this tradition by not having his guns with him.
At the end of the scene, there is a still wide-angle image of the room where the assassination of Jesse James took place. This was in the film because Andrew Dominik liked the idea of the feeling of an old-time image, so the producers mimic a photo that Dominik liked and put a couple into the film. He also put them up in the corridor of the production office to get everyone to feel the tone of the film that he wanted to make.
The use of mise-en-scene, sound and cinematography is an important factor because it gives a higher understanding and effect of the situation. The elements have kept the viewer engaged and has let the spectator live vicariously through the characters. Using these features gives emphasized feeling and emotion to the audience. Jesse James supposedly lived by the gun and died by the gun, but in fact he lived by the horse and died by the horse.
Every element in this film is great, they all add up to be something greater. The cinematography, that creates the false perception but significantly goes so much further than that. All the acting and casting is great, Brad Pitt is someone who is just about iconic as Jesse and Casey Affleck, at that time, was being over shadowed, just like Robert was.
To conclude my critical analysis on The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Andrew Dominik, 2007), I will state how I used the film and other information to create ideas based on the research and the study of the film. Dominik uses great elements to portray this historic story. In my opinion, the cinematography of the film would personally be my favourite. There is always something more behind a prop, character and setting. Seeing the story from Robert Ford’s point of view was an interesting way of telling the story of a different dangerous outlaw but in some way, finally gave the light that Robert Ford he wanted. To complete this essay, I think I have been very critical towards The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Andrew Dominik, 2007) and the historical context behind it.
References:
Medium. Armadillo, A. 2017. The Water is Wide: An Analysis of The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford as ideal Modern Tragedy. https://medium.com/@MattWaters28/the-water-is-wide-an-analysis-of-the-assassination-of-jesse-james-by-the-coward-robert-ford-as-30ec3685900d 13.01.2019
Beth Bentley 