True Grit

Joel and Ethan Coen have been on a hot streak. The filmmaker brothers are among the most original and adept directors, screenwriters, and producers working today. Their films range from dark and cruel to hilarious absurdity, frequently even from scene to scene. The Coens are at their most creative when they are deconstructing the various archetypes of different film genres. The Big Lebowski poked fun at film noir, No Country For Old Men radically reshaped the Western, Burn After Reading is a romp through spy movie stereotypes. In each of these films, the story and dialogue is shaped in such a way to simultaneously pay homage to the genre, while at the same time clearly distinguishing itself as a separate entity. All of this is part of what makes their latest effort so intriguing.

True Grit is a remake of a 1969 John Wayne movie by the same name. Both were adapted from an outstanding Charles Portis novel. While the 1969 version was slightly romanticized, the basic outline remains the same. A 14-year old girl named Mattie Ross embarks on a mission to bring her father's murderer to justice. To that end she hires Rueben "Rooster" Cogburn, a US Marshal. Along the way Cogburn and Ross hook up with a Texas Ranger named LaBoeuf who has been tracking the killer for some time due to earlier crimes.

Jeff Bridges and Hailee Steinfeld

The cast is impressive. Matt Damon takes on the role of LaBoeuf, bringing infinitely more talent and ability to the part than his 1969 counterpart Glen Campbell. Josh Brolin as the killer Chaney and Barry Pepper as the gang leader Chaney falls in with are appropriately ominous as the two leading villains. The supremely talented Jeff Bridges takes over the John Wayne role of Rooster and makes it his own. Bridges and Damon provide much of the levity in their relationship and banter and Bridges deftly maneuvers around any comparisons to Wayne's Oscar winning turn in the original, avoiding the Dude vs. Duke arguments. It is clear that Bridges knows what is expected of him, and his experience with the Coens shines through.

I have left someone out however. The true star of this movie is the 14-year old Mattie Ross. Making her film debut here, Hailee Steinfeld owns the character and is justly receiving the lion's share of the critical praise. Her toughness, intelligence, and yes, grit drive the plot. Steinfeld (who was 13 during shooting), despite being paired for most of the movie with two of the biggest stars, and most talented actors working today in Bridges and Damon, does not give an inch.

Steinfeld and Barry Pepper

As with all Coen Brothers movies, the technical aspects of the film are pitch perfect. Long time collaborator Roger Deakins handles the camera work and creates some starkly beautiful images. The dialogue clearly has the Coen brothers touch, but it is vastly lighter here. This film does not mix and match genre stereotypes, critiquing them as they go. Instead is a straightforward revenge tale, firmly set as a Western. Cogburn is a gruff old drunkard looking for redemption and seems to walk straight out of the pages of the Portis novel. LaBoeuf is the young and inexperienced, and yet brave man trying to play the hero, but unsure of what that entails. Only Ross transcends genre boundaries, and even she only does so to limits.

True Grit is a movie that defies a traditional explanation. It appears to simply be a very well made Western, but considering who made it, there is a unique feel to it all the same. A good Western is a very rare thing these days, and the Coens seem to want to rectify that. For at least one film, they have done so.

26/30