(I have been reviewing films for years on my personal blog and I’ve decided to move them over to the Basket. I hope you all enjoy them!)
True Grit (2010) 9/10
Fourteen year-old Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) hires U.S. Marshall “Rooster” Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) to hunt down the man who murdered her father. Also on the trail of the killer is Texas Ranger LaBoeuf (Matt Damon). Directed by Joel & Ethan Coen.
There is no way of walking into True Grit without expectations. It’s a Coen Brothers movie. It’s a Western. It’s a remake of a John Wayne movie (actually not, actually a refilming of the source material—but close enough). It’s a Jeff Bridges movie. It’s a Matt Damon movie. It’s a pile, basically, of preconceived notions that can interfere with simply enjoying the film.
The Coens did a brilliant modern Western with noir overtones in No Country for Old Men, and they’ve been very interested, throughout their careers, in skipping from genre to genre. I don’t know if I could name another renowned director who’s done a gangster film, a Western, a romantic comedy, farce, and a musical.
The 1969 True Grit was a star vehicle, and John Wayne’s megawatt performance was truly the only reason to see the film. But in 2010, Jeff Bridges fades into the background of the film; not that he lacks presence, but he’s literally a part of his background, a part of the bleak winter landscape (Arkansas according to the story, but filmed in Texas), a part of the world offered up by the film. And a world it is; a richly-detailed, dark, specific world that is as gritty as the title suggests.
Mattie Ross is steely and independent. More than that, though, she’s a person trying to find justice in a world without any. Surrounded by death and wrong-doing (she spends the night in a mortuary), she will find her way to righteousness. In conversation she repeats that she will hire a lawyer, she will sue, she will defend her rights. The traditional milieu of the Western is the gunfight, but Mattie wants a world with real justice, based on law. It’s significant that she finally encounters Cogburn when he testifies in court. Yes, he killed outlaws, and yes, Westerns typically applaud and then shrug at that, but here we see that even a U.S. Marshall must justify his killing before a judge and jury.
The journey after killer Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin) is a journey into a cold land of death. At this point, the movie seems unfortunately influenced by Jim Jarmusch’s Dead Man, a movie I really do not like. It’s the episodic, ‘encounter this odd, filthy person, then encounter that odd filthy person’ quality, designed to make a point but not doing the movie any favors, I think. Ultimately, though, a real adventure starts, and Mattie has to learn the limits of justice in a cold land. Yes, we get back to gunfights, but not in a way that compromises the movie’s integrity.
There’s a stylization to the speech in True Grit that’s off-putting. Just because people didn’t write contractions in the late 19th century, doesn’t mean they didn’t use them. The artifice of language is one of the things that puts the movie at arm’s length and keeps me from embracing it whole-heartedly, but True Grit has true grit, and that alone makes it worth seeing.
28 Responses to “Movie Review: True Grit”
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I haven’t read the book, so I’m going purely on the words and reviews of others, but I’ve read that the dialogue and cadence in the movie is true to Charles Portis’ original written work, and not something the Coen brothers just invented.
I, personally, liked the stylized speech, as it helped transport me even more into that setting, and gave a bit of authenticity to the movie.
Unlike Ms. Lipp, I had few expectations for the film, except that the trailers and ads were tantalizing, and that the Cohens are as reliable for me as anyone for a promise of quality.
I would add that there were many occasions for laughter in this film – the rapartee (mostly between Cogburn and “la-beef”), while perhaps more stylized than realistic, was thoroughly entertaining and quite witty. The Cohen’s even put wit into the court dialogue.
I recall one false note – toward the end, they implied that Damon’s Texas Ranger was in his 50′s – which didn’t work. He was scruffy but not that old – my take was late 30s.
And kudos to newcomer Hailee Steinfeld who we will see again, I am quite sure.
I can’t wait to see this.
A musical? Which one was that?
(Also: the link in the IIRTZ post goes to a different post, not this review.)
I agree with what #2 Natasha said, regarding the stylized speech of the movie.
In a world of “ya know”, “you betcha”, “c’mon”, and “whaz uuuppp”, I found the speech refreshing and enjoyable, much like the iambic pentameter writings of David Milch’s Deadwood (just without all the c*cksuckers).
#4, I believe the ‘musical’ is referring to O Brother, Where Art Thou?
I had huge expectations going in to the midnight screening of this (and perhaps some inebriations as well) and all were met. I agree that I felt the dialogue helped bring me in to the world, and the actors did tremendous work around the words. I actually thought this was the Coen brothers funniest film since The Big Lebowski, and that’s a huge compliment when you consider it has to surpass Burn After Reading and A Serious Man.
I loved the book when I read it in eighth grade, and have never seen the John Wayne movie. I am really looking forward to seeing the Coen Brothers’ adaptation, as it sounds quite true to the book, not just in plot and character, but in overall flavor and style.
I loved the John Wayne version and this one. Some of the lines were, word-for-word, the same dialogue in both films, pulled from the Portis novel, in which the speech was more formal, and I liked that.
I adored the use of “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms” for Mattie Ross’s “theme,” and think the score, musical choices, and cinematography were amazing. So was Jeff Bridges. Thoroughly enjoyed Matt Damon. I miss Kim Darby, but thought Hallie Steinfeld was very good.
What I missed most was the emotional arc of the original, however. In the 1969 film, I could see and feel the gradual coming-to-respect (and even love) between the three major characters, and I appreciated the ending, even though it was a departure from the Portis novel. I didn’t like nearly as much the way the 2010 film ended. I didn’t like the framing device.
But I’m comparing. On its own merits, the 2010 film is marvelous.
And I agree about the “episodic, ‘encounter this odd, filthy person, then encounter that odd filthy person’ quality, designed to make a point but not doing the movie any favors.” Also agree about Dead Man. (Worst sound track of all time, too, even if it was by Neil Young.)
“I don’t know if I could name another renowned director who’s done a gangster film, a Western, a romantic comedy, farce, and a musical.”
Try Howard Hawks.
a gangster film: “Scarface”
a Western: “Red River” or “Rio Bravo”
a romantic comedy: “His Girl Friday” or “I Was A Male War Bride” or “Ball of Fire”
a farce: “Bringing Up Baby” or “Twentieth Century”
a musical: “Gentlemen Prefer Blondes”
There’s also
a noir: “The Big Sleep”
a Sci-fi: “The Thing”
“Leaning”, the desperate night journey and the flinty older lady have been seen as references to “The Night of the Hunter.”
Mattie’s memoir has internal references to the late 1920′s. By then La Beouf would be as old as she says. She visited Cole Younger and Frank James’ Wild West Show in 1903; that’s the end of the visual timeline. No doubt the director’s cut will clear that up.
Tom, the musical I was referring to is O Brother Where Art Thou?
Link fixed.
Steve, nice catch on Hawks. I forgot that Gentlemen Prefer Blondes was his. Although you could credit the Coens with sci-fi as well, but it’s a sort of spoiler if you haven’t seen the film in question.
So. Damn. Excited.
One of the things I love so much about America is the mythology surrounding Western frontiers and the idea of freedom and the Old West; this remake looks truly spectacular.
Man, Bridges is really on a roll these days.
#12 Greg H said: “Man, Bridges is really on a roll these days.”
Yes, he certainly is…and they are playing lots of his old movies on tv lately, which is great.
Last night, they aired “Wild Bill”. A few days ago, I saw “Bad Company”, where Jeff looked like a baby (I think he was 23 yrs old).
Then, “The Men Who Stare At Goats”, and “Crazy Heart” are getting a lot of play. Jeff Bridges is hot, hot, hot! Not bad, for a 61 year old!
My favorite Jeff Bridges movie is “The Fisher King.” Hands down. But I knew he was special when I saw him in the terrible “King Kong” remake.
I think I first really noticed him in The Fabulous Baker Boys. OMG the sexy. Crazy Heart was not nearly the movie to justify his brilliance as its star.
Ooo-la-la, The Fabulous Baker Boys! I watched it again recently, and it hasn’t held up (for me) the way The Fisher King has, but OMG the sexy is right. Also loved Starman in a WTH? kind of way.
A Coen brothers movie with a bad ending?
NAWWWWWWWW!
“Red means stop, green means go, yellow means go like hell.” LOL (Starman)
sorry, “yellow means go really fast” – saw it AGES ago.
Hmmm…not sure I would call O Brother, Where Art Thou a musical, but…hmm.
Hawks was the ultimate all-purpose director. What a career.
It’s listed as a musical in the IMDb, and they did say they intended to make a musical.
I’ll be always happy to see a movie review here — I just saw Black Swan today and would love to write a review about it–but you probably have one already! Thanks for this, now I want to see it!
I must be in the minority, because I thought Jeff Bridges was a terrible ham in this movie. Contrast it to his performance in Crazy Heart, which was far more nuanced. In True Grit, the Coen Brothers’ tendency toward the esoteric collided with an actor who tends to be over the top unless carefully directed.
Far too much Bridges for my taste, too little Matt Damon and Josh Brolin was essentially a walk on. See it for Hallie Steinfeld. She has an Oscar nomination sewn up. There is your next Abigail Breslin.
Therese, we hope to see Black Swan and The King’s Speech this week. I’ve seen Social Network but have not yet written a review. I’ve got a review ready for Inception and I also like to review older movies.
Jeff in The Fabulous Baker Boys was indeed, OMG the sexy, but Jeff in Against All Odds was OMG the even sexier. Yum.
#25 Diane: but it was such a terrible movie!
#24 Deborah, re more movie reviews: bring it!
I wanted to mention to you when we talked about the language. Educated people really only had the KJ bible to read from, and they was why the language was so formal
I didn’t think i could like a remake, but love Jeff Bridges. It was actually very good. One of my favorite J.B movies was The Amateurs, very funny in a quirky sort of way.