The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford: *** (out of a possible **** stars)

Wow, that’s a ridiculously long title, isn’t it? It’s a long movie, too, but the superb performances make it worthwhile. Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck (who’s a much better actor than his older brother, Ben) do well as the title characters, but for those who want lots of gunfights, it might come across as a little slow. The makers were clearly going for historical accuracy rather than mindless, shoot-em-up entertainment value (which I’m not knocking...it certainly has it’s place, but it’s not here).