Brad Pitt, who starred and produced, had it written into his contract that Warner Bros. would not shorten the title of this adaptation of Ron Hansen’s 1983 novel. Indeed, without Pitt, the moody, contemplative Western, about the close relationship between the famous outlaw (Pitt) and the pardner (Casey Affleck) who ultimately shot him. Also, without Pitt, the movie wouldn’t have had a little-known New Zealand-born director, Andrew Dominik (Chopper). It wouldn’t have had a running time as long as its title (160 minutes). And it wouldn’t have had so few action scenes and so much brooding. Instead of the Brad Pitt shoot-’em-up that the studio probably would have preferred, Pitt and Dominik made a $30 million art movie that grossed only half its budget. History may be kinder to the film than moviegoers were; many critics think it contains some of the finest work of Pitt’s and Affleck’s careers. In the no-hard-feelings department, Pitt and Dominik reunited for the 2012 noir Killing Them Softly. Despite a much shorter title, it flopped as well.
