Assassination of Jesse James (Or, Casey Affleck is a Mad Genius and Sam Rockwell is Packing Heat)
He was ashamed of his boasting, his pretentions of courage and ruthnessness. He was sorry about his cold-bloodedness, his dispassion, his inability to express what he now believed was the case: that he truly regretted killing Jesse...
I'm so glad I snatched this one up for $9. I still adore it. I didn't think it possible, but I love Casey Affleck's performance EVEN MORE the second time around. I hate and love his Bob Ford. He starts out so obesqueous and creepy that I want to crawl onscreen and smack his stalker bitch-ass but slowly he pulls me into the anxiety he feels at the prospect of killing his idol, and ultimately I sympathize with him in the aftermath. There's something of a coming of age story in this, and my favorite scene is where he talks to Dorothy Evans with a sense of self-deprecating humor and melancholy:
"You know what I expected? Applause. I was only twenty years old then. I couldn't see how it would look to people. I was surprised by what happened.They didn't applaud."
And because it's the internet and at least semi-anonymous I can confess that Sam Rockwell cannot fail to be hot. Brad Pitt is only third hot here. Casey with his smoldering emo-eyes and baby face is number two. Sam is number one, and that's bearing this description of Charley Ford in mind: "he's ugly as sin and he smells like a skunk and he's so ignorant he couldn't drive nails in the snow". Please don't ask me to explain myself on this one. Just accept that beneath the outer surface there's a raging Sex God in Sam Rockwell.
Dear Hollywood: Less Pitt, More Rockwell!