The official title of Andrew Dominik’s (Chopper) newest film is a lengthy one - The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford - and stars Brad Pitt as James himself. Though the film focuses on the last days of the most infamous outlaw of the west, it’s not nearly as action packed as some would think. This isn’t your traditional western, however, but a slow, dark and moody character study about the man and his killer.

Based on the novel by Ron Hansen, the film begins as the James gang prepares a train robbery. Most of the original James crew is either dead or in jail. So he has to enlist a couple of new guys to help this task be successful. One of these guys, Robert Ford (Casey Affleck), joins the gang on the recommendation from his brother Charley (Sam Rockwell). Robert has long been infatuated with Jesse’s exploits ever since he could remember. Working with him on this robbery is a dream come true.

And he does anything he can to stay close to Jesse. No matter where he is, Robert always seems to find his way near him, joining whatever conversation Jesse is apart of or spending any minute alone with him he can. James is a hard man to read though. Robert, as well as the rest of the crew, can’t really figure out if Jesse respects him or not.

After the robbery goes smoothly, the gang separates for a period, as to elude any authority that might be on their trail. Jesse borrows Robert for a bit to help him move a few things to a new location. He couldn’t be anymore excited. But the months that follow make Jesse more and more paranoid. The bounty for him is high and with that comes a lot of enemies. Including those members of his crew he has known for so long.

Brad Pitt gives one of the best performances of his career here. Never before has Jesse James been so scary and intimidating on screen. There is a great amount of tension created every time he enters a room, causing the film to be that much more intense. The rest of the cast is just as brilliant, especially Affleck, who portrays Robert with a perfect amount of naivety and admiration.

Roger Deakins, who also shot the Coen’s No Country for Old Men this year, photographed The Assassination of Jesse James. He earned an Academy Award nomination for each but the actual award would be more deserving here. That isn’t to say No Country doesn’t look good; it’s quite the opposite in fact. But his work here is so much more extravagant to look at. The colors are lush, the scenery is breathtaking, and the compositions are flawlessly executed. You won’t want to take your eyes from the screen even just to blink.

This DVD release is bone dry of extra features. Aside from various sound options, there isn’t one thing special to be found. It’s a shame too, as there are a lot of technical things you find yourself wanting to learn more about. I would have had no problem sitting through a commentary by Dominik or Deakins. Even a cast commentary would be interesting. But alas, they just don’t exist. We can only hope for the inevitable double-disc version to come in the future. Still, since you probably didn’t catch this in cinemas, it’s more than worth the price of a rental.