Think about it: there has not been a decent Western since The Outlaw Josey Wales in 1976. And now the infamous Coen Brothers give us a movie that encompasses all the bloody glory of the Old West: True Grit. This soon-to-be classic has been nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Lead Actor, and Best Supporting Actress. True Grit is a movie I will watch over and over again because it raised the bar for Westerns from old and dusty flick to its very own genre of film.
True Grit begins with by playing whimsical saloon music and reminded me of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. The voice-over of a grown woman introduces herself as Mattie Ross, and begins to tell the story of how a drunk coward named Tom Chancy (Josh Brolin) gunned down her father in cold blood. She goes on to tell her story of revenge, and the story rewinds itself 25 years, to the Wild West. Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) is a 14-year-old girl who comes to Fort Smith, Arkansas to settle her father’s affairs and bury him. We see right away that this is a very intelligent girl with a tough-as-nails attitude. She ignores her mother’s orders to return home and instead meets with Deputy Marshall Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges), a man who she believes to have true grit. Mattie tries to hire him to find the man who killed her father and bring him to justice, but he refuses several times before finally agreeing. She also meets cocky Texas Ranger LaBoeuf, who joins them in the search for Chaney. Along the way there are bloody gun fights, petty quarrels, rattlesnakes, plenty of dead bodies…all the makings of a great Coen Brothers movie. Throughout the film Cogburn and LaBoeuf are both frequently referred to as having true grit, but it is really Mattie that is tougher and more ruthless than either of them.
Jeff Bridges as Rooster Cogburn was a match made in heaven. Cogburn is just as a loveable loser as “The Dude” in Big Lebowski, and just as clever as Flynn in Tron, both played by Jeff Bridges. Matt Damon as LaBeouf was simply hysterical. Everything from his troll-hair to his huge mustache to his southern drawl made his performance as the Texas Ranger very skillful. Josh Brolin’s role as targeted killer Tom Chancy is a small one, but still makes you nervous. A lazy, down on his luck, everything-happens-to-me type of person, Chancy has nothing to lose, which makes him all the more dangerous. But most of all, Hailee Steinfeld outshone all the others in her first acting role, earning her a Best Supporting Actress nomination already. Much like her character Mattie, Steinfeld was the one who put everyone in their place.
Many of you may not know this, but True Grit is a remake of Charles Portis’ novel of the same name and a 1969 movie starring the legendary John Wayne as Cogburn. In regard to the plot, the 2010 version closely resembles the book, with some minor differences from the 1969 movie. The dialogue matches almost exactly, but though the endings are quite different, I found the 2010 version more satisfying. One of the aspects of the movie that really surprised me were the little things: the scenery, the costumes, and the props. They were typical, just what you would expect, and that made them all the more real because no one tried too hard to make it obvious it was the Old West. In one scene Mattie wades neck deep into water, yet appears dry when she comes out (but I think it was because she was wearing a wool coat, which does not show moisture discoloration). As for the directing, it’s the Coen Brothers; do you really need another reason to go see a movie? They’ve directed other huge Academy Awards winners such as No Country for Old Men, There Will be Blood, and Fargo. The fact that they chose to remake this classic Western is yet another testament to their directing superiority.
Coen Brothers, Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, and Westerns; what’s not to like in this film? It’s smart, it’s gritty (hence the name), it’s got dark humor, and it’s realistic. The fact that it was nominated for 10 Oscars, outnumbered only by The King’s Speech, is not the sole reason to watch this movie. It’s out in theaters for a little while longer, and you should definitely go see it while there’s still time.
True Grit is rated PG-13.
