True Grit

Directors: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
Writers: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, Charles Portis (author)
Starring: Hailee Steinfeld, Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon
Release Date: December 22, 2010
Length: 1 hour 50 minutes

Based on the 1968 novel by Charles Portis, True Grit is the latest Coen Brother’s film to hit theatres. Although there is a famous 1969 adaptation of the novel starring John Wayne, the Coen Brothers said this wasn’t a remake of the first film but a faithful adaptation of the original book. This is one of the only inexplicit films of theirs to receive a PG-13 rating making it more of a family film. The film stars Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin and fantastic newcomer Hailee Steinfeld as the incorrigible Mattie Ross. After a man named Tom Cheney shoots her father to death, 14-year-old Mattie Ross makes it her duty to find Cheney and kill him. She hires the crude one-eyed Marshall Rooster Cogburn to help find her father and is annoyingly accompanied by Texas Ranger Labeouf on their dangerous expedition to capture Cheney. The vital difference between this adaptation and the original with John Wayne is that this film still includes the comedy of the characters beautifully but has much more, with no pun intended, grit. The Coen Brothers can always blend comedy well with intensity and action but they had a slightly harder job keeping the tension and eeriness without making it gory or disturbing. Personally, that’s what I found this film had over the original was the combination of comedy and suspense while the original was a fun goofy adventure story. Whether you like the Coen Brothers or not, you can’t deny that they always make sure to have an exceptional cast of actors. Jeff Bridges, a frequent collaborator with the Coen Brothers, was the perfect choice for the old Rooster Cogburn. Bridges gave the character power and intimidation while also showing a certain laziness that comes with his constant drunkenness. Matt Damon took on Glenn Campbell’s old role of the handsome LaBeouf that doesn’t get along well with Mattie at first but develops an odd connection with her by the end of the movie. Damon also brought a surprising humor and easy-going attitude to the character and film, which we are not used to seeing him give. Josh Brolin, with only two scenes, gave a funny performance of the idiotic redneck murderer, Tom Cheney. The real star of the movie was the scene-stealing Hailee Steinfeld as the stubborn Mattie Ross. If there is one thing I definitely enjoyed in this film more than the original was Steinfeld’s performance as Ross as compared to Kim Darby’s in the original. Steinfeld has made Mattie a much stronger, tougher character that has a hidden young vulnerability she never lets through. Her robust performance made the entire movie, as it should with Mattie being the main protagonist. Her zealous presence constantly stole the screen away from Brolin, Damon and even Jeff Bridges himself sometimes. It’s easy to say I preferred this film to the 1969 version, not because I thought it was a better film in general but because it came off as quite a different movie from the first that I found myself enjoying more. True Grit is fun to watch but is certainly not one of the Coen Brother’s best. They’d probably be better off making films for their usual mature audience however True Grit is still quite a great film.