“The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” essentially came and went without much notice from the general public upon release in 2007 (the film did receive a handful of raves from critics at the time). But over the subsequent eight years, the movie has cultivated a small but devoted following. Scout Tafoya is one of those devoted followers. He has a video essay series on Vimeo called “The Unloved,” where he analyzes films that were underappreciated at the time of their release. With ‘Jesse James,’ Tafoya expounds on the strong impression the film has made on him and how the the film’s devotees eerily mirror the cult left behind by the real Jesse James.
Tafoya touts Roger Deakins’ masterful cinematography, the film’s strong, resonant themes, as well as the subtle ways in which the movie has influenced cinema today —and it’s through these aspects that make ‘Assassination of Jesse James’ worth coming back to time and time again. It’s a passionate look at the movie, so a take a spin through the 10-minute video below.