Release Date: 12/22/2010
True Grit, based on the 1968 novel and remake of the 1969 film, is a Coen Brothers revenge western. The original starred John Wayne in which he won his first and only Oscar. Jeff Bridges, fresh off his Oscar winning performance in Crazy Heart, has the opportunity to grace his presence in his first Coens movie since his amazing character “The Dude” in their cult phenomenon “The Big Lebowski”. The entire cast is nearly perfect as The Coens’ unique style of dark humor fits perfectly into the genre, not to mention their signature high production qualities. I’m not a huge fan of westerns and the brothers are usually hit or miss with me, but with this film they have achieved something great and it certainly will end up in my Top 10 of the year, maybe even the Top 5.
True Grit, set in the Old West, follows the 14-year old Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) and her search for the man who murdered her father. The culprit is a drifter named Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin); in the wake of the crime, he flees the town and joins up with a gang. Mattie, after haggling with some town folk for some extra cash, seeks out the one-eyed, mumbling Marshal, Reuben “Rooster” Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) to act as the bounty hunter. Although initially not interested, Cogburn changes his mind when Mattie offers him a sweet reward. Much to his chagrin, Mattie talks her way into coming with him, along with LaBoeuf (Matt Damon), a Texas Ranger hunting Chaney for the assassination of a Senator.
The Coens have made some fine films in their time, with the Oscar winning No Country for Old Men, the well-received Fargo, and the cult classic The Big Lebowski setting the bar. They have also made some odd films that are intriguing when looked at again on second viewing, such as Barton Fink, Blood Simple, and A Serious Man. Their films almost always, in a subtle way, say more then just the basic story. In a way this makes True Grit one of their more conventional pieces of work. This is not to say that their style isn’t painted all over it. The dark humor works better than almost any of the previous films mentioned, as I cannot remember laughing this much in a Coens film since Bridges was last on the screen for them.
Steinfeld, in her debut film, steals several scenes. The Coens casted her perfectly as the smart-alecky, yet sweet, young girl. She stands toe-to-toe with some of Hollywood’s biggest actors. She is definitely deserving of her Oscar buzz, but I’m not quite sure why she isn’t placed in the lead actress category, as she has more screen time then anyone in the film, even Bridges. The story is also centered on her throughout the entire film. Her career should skyrocket when this is released and I could see her being the next Abigal Breslin. Bridges portrays another classic character here, while mumbling his lines and having a father-like relationship with Steinfeld. At first I thought I was going to have trouble understanding Bridges and that it might take away from his performance, but from an early scene of him sitting in court to the end of the film, he knocks it out of the park. Matt Damon also starts off as kind of an annoying character, but from the middle of the film when he loses half his tongue to the end he had me cracking up as he bragged most of the time about being a Texas Ranger. I would definitely like to see him end up in another Coen film, as his type of humor fits their writing perfectly. Some other noteworthy performances come later in the film, when Josh Brolin and Barry Pepper make appearances. Pepper plays gang leader Lucky Ned Pepper who has an exciting stand off with Cogburn as he spits all over the audience. Brolin has a very small role but is decent in some key scenes near the end of the film.
One of the main stars of this production though is Coen Brother’s favorite and a personal favorite of mine, cinematographer Roger Deakins. Deakins is in line for his 9th Oscar nomination and this could possibly be his first win, if he can beat Wally Pfister for Inception. From the opening frame of the film to the final stretch run he beautifully captures the landscape of the Old West. Near the end of the film the actors and action take a backseat to the camerawork and the amazing score by Carter Burwell. It’s some amazing stuff and enough to give you goose bumps.
The film starts off a little slow and takes a little while to really get into the characters and the story. Once the trio take their trip into the wilderness is really when the movie takes off. One of my biggest problems with the Coens is their endings. They recently seem to have abrupt endings that are deeper then they first appear, but a lot of time they can also be very anticlimactic. True Grit isn’t as abrupt as the previous two and is definitely more conventional but still it kind of fizzles out instead of the huge finish that most people look forward to. But again, that is just another unique signature of the Coens exclusive style
This is probably my favorite western since Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven, while barely topping Mangold’s 3:10 to Yuma. If you aren’t a fan of the Coens or westerns then I’d still give this film a chance, it’s just too good to be ignored. If you are a fan of both, you might just bite your tongue off in excitement.
Enjoy! It’s MADE!
Imdb: N/A
Rotten Tomatoes: 97%
Moviewiseguys: 8.5/10
