"The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" ** (out of four): Unforgivably slow and over-titled attempt to dramatize the ignoble murder of the notorious outlaw features a fine performance by Casey Affleck as Ford.

To paraphrase a character from Brad Pitt's past: The first rule of villainy is to be careful of who you trust. Few people exemplify that better than Jesse James who was famously shot in the back by a member of his own gang, Robert Ford. As dramatized in the unforgivably slow and over-titled "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford", Ford was a dangerously doting lackey. There is a tradition of obsequious, slightly effete henchman in films dating back to Martin Landau in "North by Northwest" and continued most recently courtesy of Ben Foster in "3:10 to Yuma". As played by Casey Affleck in the performance of his career, Ford is less Mr. Smithers from "The Simpsons" and more Jennifer Jason Leigh from "Single White Female". He is also one of the few things to recommend about director Andrew Dominik's meandering, over-long film.

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