3. Brad Pitt - The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
Aah, Brad Pitt - the person that every man wants to be, and every lady wants to be in (guess that saying only works if you're talking about a woman, but you get what I mean). This guy knows how to live - money in the bank, a gorgeous wife, a job that doesn't involve writing numerous articles about the careers of people more successful than him. I suppose the only thing that really let's him down is his appearance ... Ok, I'm kidding - he actually stated once that he thought his good looks would hinder him when it came to getting parts - tough life ain't it? As well as being one of the most unnecessarily long titles in movie history, The Assassination Of Jesse James (By The Coward Robert Ford, in case you forgot) received multiple award nominations, although surprisingly very few of these were levelled at Pitt's performance. Hmm ... Well, let me be the first to say, What the f**k people!? Are you kidding me!? His portrayal of James made the bloody film! How can you a**eholes not see that!? No, shut the f**k up Bruce! Am I gonna walk around, and rip your f*****g lights down? Huh? Then why are you trashing my scene? You do it one more f*****g time, and I ain't walking on this set if you're still hired! Oh, I seem to have ... err ... veered into something else there - my apologies. Back to Brad Pitt, and his underrated turn as the 19th century's most famous outlaw. Every scene he was involved in comprised of pure tension for the characters and the audience, complimented beautifully by a large dose of dramatic irony implied by the title. An innocent, boyish exterior always under strain from the ruthlessly threatening nature constantly bubbling under the surface of his persona, as futile efforts to maintain trust and control eventually spiral his life into fear and paranoia. Pitt's virtuous facial expressions alone show flashes of both terror and mendaciousness, encompassed timorously by the unpredictability of his actions. As much as I'd like to reward you for such marvellous work Brad, there ain't no prizes for coming 3rd in this list either (much like the prizes for coming in 1st and 2nd) - but take solace in the fact that The Assassination Of Jesse James is my third favourite film of all time as well (behind American Beauty and A Single Man).
