True Grit - Rob Culpepper

A Review; Or, Why You Should Stop What You're Doing Now and Go Watch This Film

I heard it said that No Country For Old Men was the Coen Brother's take on a modern western. If that's so, then True Grit is the Coen's take on the classic western. And it is TIGHT. Like most movies the Coen Brothers put their hands on, True Grit is, plain and simple, really good. Story telling, humor, pacing, memorable characters...the Coen's do it all.

Don't get me wrong. They aren't flawless. But I think they've been able to capture Today what it must have been like to see a western at the pictures back in the 1950s, 60s, and 70s. I think we're so used to the western as a genre thanks to TBS marathons that we aren't as carried away by the mythology of the west. Even Clint Eastwood's late attempts at creating the definitive western (Unforgiven) or any of Kevin Costner's tries (Dances With Wolves, Open Range) fail to create the magic of the West in a movie the way the old ones do. But True Grit does it for me. It's got a great story, good archetypal characters with enough personality to make them distinctive, and one event after another to keep things moving.

As you probably know, the film is a remake of the 1969 film starring John Wayne (for which he won his only Oscar, though arguably as a tip of the hat to his 40+ years of dominating). But the film is it's own piece. The dialog is Coen Brothers, as is the blood splatters, as is the way it's shot. There are very few sweeping vistas; the film is not about the land--The West--but about these characters who have found themselves bound together by a story thread in The West. Those are: Jeff Bridges, who is solid, and paired with the Coen Bros again is great. Matt Damon, who manages to make you forget you're looking at Good Will Hunting (though he reminded me a bit of his role inThe Informant). He's solid as well. In important but less screen-time roles are Barry Pepper and Josh Brolin and some others who are all at top form. (I think the Coens mask people well, so you see a face you recognize, but not so much that you only remember the other characters they played.) The real star of the show, though, is Hailee Steinfeld. Her IMDb has no info (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2794962/). Who knows where the Coens found her. But she is phenomenal. Not only does she hold her own among some very good Oscar Winners, but she shines in her toughness and in the few moments where she breaks open a bit. I don't know what else to say about it other than that the characters are superb.

This movie was so good that instead of waiting in the lobby of the cinema for my sister and brother-in-law, who had gone to see Little Fockers, my dad and I headed right out to the car as soon as the movie was over, still talking about how cool it was, and drove all the way home. You Must See This Film, especially the scene in which Rooster (Jeff Bridges) makes this famous (John Wayne) charge, with guns blazing in both hands, the reins of his horse in his teeth, one man against four....