MOVIE REVIEW: The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

The self-explanatory title tells you this is the recrecation of the events leading up to the murder of the most infamous outlaw of the American Midwest.

The movie begs the question: is it murder to kill a psycopath?

Bradd Pitt as the title player, is cool, cold, brooding, yet never hammy by any means.

And Casey Affleck is Bob Ford, a sometime member of James' gang of train robbers who would eventually shoot his hero in the back and go on to a career as a minor celebrity reenacting the deed, committed in 1882 in St. Joseph, Missouri.

Much of the film centers on Ford's motivation, and here he's paid a clandestine visit by a pinkerton agent who brings ford the warning that led to the deed. Sam Rockwell plays Ford's troubled older brother, another gang member who realize their leader may indeed be planning to kill them.

Bradd Pitt's underplayed performance evokes a smoldering killer beneath a calm exterior.

The movie never glorifies the terrible man behind the legend and has an authentic look unseen since "Butch Cassiday and the Sundance Kid."

Casey Affleck gives a nuanced portrayl of his killer, Bob Ford. Though too long by 20 minutes "The Assassination of Jesse James" is a well-cafted historical drama.