True Grit Review

There are no spoilers in this review.

PLOT: After her father is murdered, a mature 14-year-old girl hires an aging U.S Marshall to help her bring the killer to justice.


THE GOOD: The Coen Brothers. Joel and Ethan Coen have created a true western with True Grit. Lacking all of the quirkiness and sharpness of their previous films, the Coens take on a straitlaced genre film and succeed on just about every level. By pure definition, True Grit is a remake of the 1969 John Wayne version, but it really is a completely different adaptation of the 1968 Charles Portis novel. From what I hear, it's a more faithful adaptation and even includes many lines taken straight from the book.

"Your horsey is orange."

Acting. Newcomer Hailee Steinfeld is great and will have a very bright future if she chooses her projects well. I'm sure she's reading a couple screenplays right now. At only 13 years of age, Steinfeld is able to keep up with her fellow big name screen mates. Would love to see her get nominated for an award. Jeff Bridges takes Rooster Cogburn and makes him completely his own character. It's a mix between his Bad Blake in Crazy Heart and The Dude in The Big Lebowski. He's fat, a slob, a drunk, but also rough and somewhat trustworthy. He certainly has true grit. Matt Damon as Texas Ranger LaBoeuf was also pretty good, though sometimes his accent was a bit off, IMO. And Josh Brolin was barely in it, but whatever.

Cinematography. Roger Deakins' cinematography is some of the best of the year. His shots of the open country are gorgeous. Loved the repetitive fade sequence of the trio traveling. Deakins will probably gets nominated and I wouldn't be surprised about a win. He has deserved it for quite some time now.

Humor. The movie really made me LOL a few times. It's like a western mixed with an action-comedy. Rooster is always funny. I was giggling practically every time he opened his mouth. One of the more memorable scenes is when Mattie is bargaining with a horse trader. That whole back and forth is so perfectly crafted. The Coen Brothers really get the smart dialogue down and Hailee Steinfeld and Dakin Matthews deliver it with such perfection. Also loved the scene where they run into the "Bear Man" who has a fondness for human teeth. Rooster's first comment here is priceless.


THE BAD: Nothing.

"My horsey is orange."

THE END: True Grit just might be my favorite western of all-time. It has so much of what I look for in films. I'd love for the Coens to do another western film, but I'd also like them to maybe try a different genre. Could be interesting. True Grit is one of my favorite films of the year and I made it #4 on my top ten of 2010 list. If you should like to see the movie now, "that would be alright".


DISCUSS: Did you like True Grit? Have you seen the John Wayne version? What is your favorite John Wayne movie? What did you think of Hailee Steinfeld's performance? Do you foresee this film winning any Oscars? What is your favorite western?

"Where is the guy with the orange horsey!?"