Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, The

The movie with the longest title this year, The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, may also be

Jesse James stars Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck as the two title character, Pitt playing the famous outlaw and Affleck as the man who would eventually put the legend to rest - literally. This movie could feature the best performances by both actors - ever. You first notice Affleck as Ford, a nervous, socially awkward individual who wants to fit in, and who wants to be his hero Jesse James. Throughout the film, you watch as the character is slowly stripped of his idealism and respect for the man he has cherished since he was a child, and Affleck handles this decay with great ability. Affleck really shines in the last half hour as director Andrew Dominik finally allows us to connect with the character on a truly emotional level. For most of the movie, you so desperately want to stand firmly behind Affleck, but the type of person he plays makes it difficult; in the end, though, you can finally see life through his eyes, and it is truly devastating. Both Affleck''s performance and Dominik''s handling of the story is like pressing to see through a faded window, and then finally breaking through.

Equal to Affleck is Pitt, who for the longest time doesn''t overpower any scenes and then, suddenly, does. It''s not until deep into the movie that Pitt suddenly unleashes the full fury of his character, and almost instantly you are blown away by the fact that the man has been strong since the film started over two hours earlier. Like Affleck only more extreme, Pitt''s masterful performance grows on you as time goes on, and his final half hour on screen is definitely a highlight. There''s one scene preceeding James'' murder where he holds a knife to Bob''s throat; this is a scene I would love to see played as a clip at the Oscars to demonstrate his performance.