Flick Flak: True Grit
True Grit
Directors: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
With: Jeff bridges, Matt Damon, Hailee Steinfeld, Josh Brolin
15, 110mins
Having never seen the original True Grit from 1969, for which John Wayne won his only Oscar, I can’t comment on how this remake by the Coens stands up to it. Though I’m willing to bet it is better. The Coens’ third film of their last four to receive nominations for Best Picture at the Oscars (after No Country for Old Men and A Serious Man), True Grit is simply a perfectly realised film. Every aspect of the film delivers, and it is a thoroughly enjoyable experience.
The plot follows Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld), a fourteen-year-old girl whose father was recently murdered in an argument with Tom Chaney (eventually revealed to be the excellent Josh Brolin). Heading into town alone, she sets about raising the money to hire a Marshal who will help her hunt Chaney down, and has ‘Rooster’ Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) recommended to her as the meanest, but who also comes with the warning that “he enjoys pulling a cork or two”. Also on Chaney’s trail is Texas Ranger LaBoeuf, played by Matt Damon.
Like No Country for Old Men, True Grit is a Coen brothers film without the irritating whimsical side. I really like Fargo, The Big Lebowski, and No Country, but their more odd stuff gets on my nerves a little (A Serious Man for instance). True Grit has a nice humour to it, particularly with adults underestimating Mattie, and in Jeff Bridges’ portrayal of an alcoholic Marshal. It is also bittersweet and moving when it needs to be, again with the relationship between Rooster and Mattie being the focal point.
Also like No Country, this film is atmospheric and slow-burning, but never dull. The conversations between the characters are so entertaining that while you are aware of the time, you also feel that you could enjoy the company of these characters all day.
When action does erupt it is thrilling, brutal, and feels dangerously real. There are few things cooler than Rooster taking on four bandits alone, riding his horse with no hands and firing two pistols.
The acting is all excellent, as you would expect with Bridges and Steinfeld nominated for Best Actor and Supporting Actress respectively, though, Hailee Steinfeld not being nominated for Best Actress is a bit of a slight as she is more of a main character than the three guys who have their names emblazoned across the poster. Her performance as the stubborn and mature Mattie suggests a bright career ahead of her. Jeff Bridges gives Rooster both cold and warm sides, and is as reliable as ever (ignoring Tron: Legacy). He delivers his dialogue often slurred and always muttered, but still manages to make it intelligible and heartfelt.
True Grit is stunning to look at. From the early scenes set in a town in the Wild West, which totally immerse you in the period, to the regions of the untamed countryside through which they roam later, which are breathtaking, the film is beautifully located and shot.
I am not generally a fan of Westerns, but True Grit is much more than a typical genre piece. It is funny, moving, exciting and gorgeous, and could turn out to be one of the films of 2011. It certainly deserves its ten Oscars nods, even if it is unlikely to go home with many of the little bald guys.
