'Jesse James' novel adapts to big screen

By Jon McDonald

When Brad Pitt told Santa Clara English professor Ron Hansen, "Hey Ron, good book," he knew he had a winner.

Pitt is the celebrity powerhouse behind "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford," a candidly titled Western film adapted from a 1983 novel by Hansen.

The plot centers on the last days of famed outlaw Jesse James, played by Pitt, whose heroic status drives him to increasing levels of paranoia.

"A lot of people think Brad was perfect for Jesse James because he is such a celebrity and he knows what that does," said Hansen. "I was really impressed with Brad. He struck me as a really solid, generous man."

In addition to Pitt, the star-studded production involved Casey Affleck, Mary-Louise Parker, Sam Rockwell and Ridley and Tony Scott.

Hansen has previous experience working on adaptations of his novels but has never been as involved as he was with "Jesse James."

Director and co-writer Andrew Dominik frequently consulted Hansen on the screenplay and had him write additional lines on the fly.

Hansen spent about a week on the set, helped with editing and even enjoys a cameo in the film. He is happily satisfied with the finished product.

"I've seen some of my books adapted in outrageous ways," Hansen recalled. "You have 150 people on a cast and crew. You hope they're all heading in the same direction, but sometimes weird ideas cropped up."

Professional actors, however, can add much to a character. "When I write a scene, I can only write it one way," said Hansen. "An actor adds all kinds of shades to it."

Hansen lauded the acting prowess of Casey Affleck, who added his own perspective to the complicated character of Robert Ford. "In some ways it feels like he was born to play this role."

Dominik, whose previous directorial experience lies mostly with commercials, proved a more than satisfactory interpreter to Hansen. "I had some trepidation before I saw the script, but Andrew was so faithful to the book."

Books do not always translate well onto film. "Jesse James" underwent a prolonged production meltdown over the past two years, with Warner Bros. looking for an action-oriented flick and Dominik developing a more pensive film 2 hours 40 minutes in length.

"Some of the negative reviews call ('Jesse James') pretentious, and that's because it's not simple minded," as many of today's movies tend to be, said Hansen. "Often comic books make better films than novels."

Hansen is confident that the film will succeed. "Anything with costumes does well around Oscar time," he said. "Everybody keeps saying that Brad and Casey are going to get nominated."

The industry of Westerns has shrunk since their heyday in the 1940s and '50s. "Jesse James" was filmed in the same Canadian province where Clint Eastwood filmed "Unforgiven" over a decade ago and employed the same horse wrangler and one of the producers from the earlier film.

Despite this decline and his studio's apprehension, Hansen, who taught a course on Western films last spring quarter, said the genre is timeless because it is rooted in morality.

"The issues it raises are much clearer than in the murky cops and robbers films," he said. "Good guys and bad guys are so clearly there, and the issues are so stark."

The moral code of the West is retained even in the unconventional and historically accurate "Jesse James." "It shows Jesse James to be a villain, Bob Ford to be a villain of his own kind, and gives reasons for their choices," said Hansen.

"The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford" opens locally tomorrow.

Contact Jon McDonald at (408) 551-5918 or jmcdonald@scu.edu.