True Grit is based on a novel by Charles Portis. There is an earlier film version staring John Wayne, Glenn Campbell and Kim Darby in the lead role as Mattie Ross. True Grit is Western about a 14 year old girl and it is told from her perspective and voice over. Her father has been murdered and the local law enforcement aren't doing anything about it. Set in the turn of the 19th century Mattie locates a cockled, cantankerous old Marshal and hires him to capture her fathers killer and return him so that she may see him hang. They meet up with a Texas Ranger along the way that is looking for the same man but for a different crime.
The original film is the only role that John Wayne won an Oscar for. It was kind of a lifetime achievement award, but he was good in the film. This time around Jeff Bridges fills the saddle of the Marshal Rooster Cogburn. Hailee Steinfeld is Mattie and Matt Damon plays the Texas Ranger LaBoeuf. Josh Brolin has a very small role as the killer Tom Chaney.
I have seen the first version and liked it, but didn't love it. it was very much a straight forward Western in the vain of High Noon (review #53) and Stagecoach (review #44). This time around though the story get the Coen treatment. One of the elements of a proper Coen treatment is the works of their Director of Photography Roger Deakins. I loved how this film looked! The west looked authentic with tiny touches of style thrown in to keep interesting. I am a sucker for sepia tones I guess. But then there is a scene where a dark horse is rode at night and it is breath taking. Then there is the next Coen element, language. I haven't read the novel, but the Coens have a rich history of colorful and intriguing dialogue. That was the first thing I noticed in this movie.
Then there are the performances that the Coens get from their actors. Steinfeld will make my Top 5 Female performances for the year, and that is in a good year for female performances. The story revolves around her and I think she is in over 90% of the scenes. She is the driving force behind this movie. That is a huge task for basically a first feature and I think she totally pulled it off. Bridges as Cogburn was fun to watch. It is nice to see him really act, unlike TRON Legacy (review to come). There is a scene in a court room where he has fantastic lines and he killed it. It is one of my favorite scenes in the film. Matt Damon was solid in his role as well.
It wouldn't be a Coen Brother movie if there weren't some great minor characters. Barry Pepper plays the leader of the bad guys Ned Pepper. He absolutely stole every scene he was in. He hasn't been this good since Saving Private Ryan where he played my favorite character in that movie, the Sniper Daniel Jackson. There was a really off putting role. A mountain man / doctor dressed in a bear skin. It was played by Ed Corbin. He seemed to be acting in a totally different movie. I could have done without his character. Thankfully it is only one scene.
There is only one song in the film that I noticed. It is the hymnal "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms". It is haunting. There are also some haunting moments in the film. The first to come to mind is where a body has been hung from a tree and left there. It was hung 20 feet off the ground. When the Marshal and Mattie come upon the corpse he is slightly swaying and has a vulture pecking away at him. It is not gory or gross, it is just eerie.
I am not sure where True Grit will fall in my top films of the year, but I enjoyed the new version a great deal. Enough to see it 2 more times in the theater. Reviews to come. I give True Grit a 4/5 stars. Check out the Trailer Park to see for yourself.
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