Daily Dialogue — October 8, 2013
JESSE proclaims in a sentence that seems composed just for Bob:
JESSE: I guess I’ll take my guns off for fear the neighbors might spot them.
CHARLEY turns from the screen door with vexation on his face. BOB’S thumb twitches as he lowers his hand to his gun.
JESSE unbuckles his holsters and lays them on the bed as if creating an exhibit.
JESSE focuses on the picture of Skyrocket:
JESSE: Ain’t that picture look dusty.
He withdraws a furniture duster and climbs a rush-bottomed chair.
BOB slinks from the wall and stands between JESSE and his two revolvers.
He shakes his fingers like a gunfighter and instructs his brother with scared eyes.
CHARLEY steps further into the room and the two FORDS slip out their guns.
BOB extends his .44 and cocks it with THREE SOFT CLICKS.
JESSE swivels slightly, authentically surprised, reaching for a gun that isn’t there.
Then BOB FORD’S .44 IGNITES and a red stamp seems to paste itself just behind the outlaw’s right ear. His face socks into the watercolor glass. GUNPOWDER AND GUN noise fills the room. JESSE drops from his knees and smacks onto the floor like a great animal, shaking the house with his fall.
— The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007), screenplay by Andrew Dominik, novel by Ron Hansen
The Daily Dialogue theme for the week is assassination suggested by Aarthi Ramanathan. Today’s suggestion by Zach Jansen.
Trivia: According to Andrew Dominik, Brad Pitt had it put in his contract that the name of the movie was not to be changed.
Dialogue On Dialogue: Commentary from Zach: “Not much dialogue going on here, but visually, there are no two-shots in the entire scene. Each character is isolated in their frame, shut off from the others — much like their emotional states.
Of the dialogue that is present, it plays against Jesse’s character as presented throughout the film. He couldn’t care less about what others thought of him or how things appear. Only when he senses the end is imminent does he take a few moments to concern himself about what he looks like and perhaps even what his legacy may be.”
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