New Movie Review - "True Grit"

I apologize for not having any posts lately. I'm at home and my primary computer is still at school so all of the half-written reviews that I had going there are stuck there and I'm on my mom's computer at home instead. But I thought I'd just share a few words on a movie I've seen recently, just to fill the awkward void until I get back to school

True Grit



True Grit is the latest outing from the director duo, the Coen Brothers, also well-known for other films such as Fargo, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, and The Big Lebowski. It’s a remake of the 1969 sort-of-classic of the same name starring John Wayne. I’ve never seen the original, but from what I have heard on review of the 2011 version, the two films seem to be quite different.

But anyway, let’s get on with what I thought. I’ve been looking forward to this movie since the trailer came out, since I like many other Coen Brothers movies, and their last one that I saw, Burn After Reading, came out back in 2008. So, needless to say, I didn’t need any convincing to go see this one.

It didn’t disappoint. What drew me to the movie in the first place was the main character, Mattie Ross. She’s only 14 years old, but she’s stern, head-strong, serious, and can even be a smooth-talking salesman when she needs to. I always am a sucker for strong women characters that don’t just fill the Disney heroine mold, which reeks of forced independence, or the overly-morose and scripted women of CSI or the like. The actress who played Mattie is Hailee Steinfeld, who I’ve never heard of before, and from what I can tell, no one has, since True Grit has her first big role. But I’ll be sure to keep an eye out for her in the future, since her performance was very well done. I must say I think they did a good job of casting and dressing her as well – she is good-looking, but not in a glamorous Hollywood way that often makes these kinds of movies unbelievable and fake-looking. Mattie’s twin braids and simple black clothes fit her character perfectly—no-nonsense and practical.

And of course, this movie can’t be discussed without mentioning one of the Coen Brother’s favorite actors, Jeff Bridges, who plays the bounty hunter in the movie, “Rooster” Cogburn. I don’t really have to vouch for Jeff Bridges any more than anyone else already has, but I will anyway: he’s a delight in this movie. I thought his voice was perfect—it was low, gravely, and had just the sound you’d expect from a man who has lived a long, hard life of drinking and chasing murderous criminals around the desert.

Matt Damon also stars as the other bounty hunter who teams up with Mattie and Rooster (and then splits up with them, and then joins back together with them later). While this film does prove to anyone in doubt that Damon can act and that he’s not just a pretty action boy, I did find his character kind of unnecessary in the first place. The same character was there in the 1969 film, so I understand that he couldn’t have just been left out, but it still feel like the writing of the movie didn’t give him enough of a reason to be there.

My favorite aspect of the film was the landscape shots of the area around Santa Fe, where the movie was shot. The scenery is so beautiful and captures the wild and bleak but also captivating features of the West at the time this would have taken place (around the 1920s). I’d love to get the DVD again just so I can pause during some of those scenes, just to take it all in.

However, I would not go as far as to call it Coen classic. Some of the plot details still don’t make a whole lot of sense to me, and I feel that they weren’t made that clear. For example, the “emotional turning point” of the movie is obviously supposed to be when (spoilers) the trail apparently goes cold for the fugitive they are hunting, and the two bounty hunters are ready to call it quits. Mattie is admittedly frustrated and yells at Rooster, while Matt Damon’s character leaves, giving up on chasing the criminal. But then, the next morning, while Mattie is getting water, she just happens to run into the man they’re chasing right in front of her. Maybe there were some details I missed that would make this more plausible, but my initial reaction was that it was a bit thrown-together.

Despite some of its minor setbacks, this movie is quite a solid, complete package. The characters are fun from the start (while admittedly there is little character development), the visuals are stunning, and the soundtrack fits the “on one’s own” attitude of people who lived in the West—the fringes of American civilization at the time. I recommend this movie highly, but with the disclaimer to not expect another O Brother, Where Art Thou?.

Thanks for reading! I saw another movie recently, "The Tourist", so maybe I'll share a few words on that as well later.

PS Just to keep it H!P related CONGRATS TO THE NEW 9TH GEN AND TO KIKKA FOR BEING A SOLOIST (I THINK)! Whoo hoo!