jesse james

Last week I watched a movie about the last few months of Jesse James' life and the man who killed him, Robert Ford. The cinematography was absolutely beautiful and I think it was nominated for a couple of Academy Awards. James was played by Brad Pitt, who did a pretty good job faking a Southern accent. The best part about the movie, though, is the soundtrack. It is absolutely amazing. It has a kind of sad, haunting feel to it that just makes your heart ache at the beauty of the piano and the various stringed instruments harmonizing together. I know I don't know as much about music as some people in this family but I do know that soundtrack is something special. Fortunately, I've been able to listen to it wholly for free on the movie's website: http://jessejamesmovie.warnerbros.com/#/Gallery, while waiting for the copy I purchased on Amazon to arrive in the mail. Check it out if you have the time. I'm so grateful we were raised to appreciate good music in our household. All those years of begrudginly listening to NPR whenever Mom was present have given me a better knowledge and appreciation of classical music than the next guy.

Anyways, I decided to buy the book that the movie is based on and it is pretty dang good as well. I just love history! Although the events in the book really did happen, I think it is technically classified as historical fiction because the author (Ron Hansen) had to have made up most of the dialogue throughout the story. I'm only a little ways into it but as far as I can tell, the movie has stayed pretty true. I hate it when movies are made based on books and they have to change everything! I think the only movie I've seen that was better than its book in terms of the story line would have to be The Count of Monte Cristo. Can y'all think of any others?