Striking villain

Brad Pitt’s Jesse James is as scary as he is attractive | Sam Thielman

"Lately, I've been becoming a problem for myself," admits Jesse James (Brad Pitt) to his friend Bob Ford (Casey Affleck). He's understating the case considerably: Jesse has become a problem for everyone, least of all himself. The charismatic outlaw's mean streak has come under the influence of paranoia, perhaps even insanity, but most of the time he's still good cheer incarnate, attractive to everyone around him.

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is a beautifully shot film, with gorgeous Midwestern vistas and constantly inventive visual metaphors. This is only Andrew Dominik's second film, but already he's discovered something about the perpetually boyish Pitt that nobody else has bothered to look for: He's the perfect illustration for Hamlet's caveat that "one may smile, and smile, and be a villain." With the advent of CGI and ever-widening boundaries for disturbing content, filmmakers have come up with some fascinating portrayals of villainy, from Peter Jackson's vision of Sauron in The Lord of the Rings to Alfonso Cuaron's dementors in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.

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October 06, 2007, Vol. 22, No. 36

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