Review: TRUE GRIT

TRUE GRIT (2010) is the second film adaption of the book from Charles Portis’ 1968 novel of the same name. The first, being the 1969 version starring John Wayne, earned him an Oscar for Best Actor. While the 1969 version is a great film, some claims director Henry Hathaway strayed too far from the book. With this new adaptation, Joel and Ethan Coen claim to have a truer adaptation than the John Wayne classic.

Having not read the book, I cannot attest to the accuracy or loyalty to its literary inspiration. I can say, given some leniency to assume, that the dialogue it probably truer to its source as is evident by the characters’ richly verbose and illustrative dialogue, which is perhaps part of the reason the Coen brothers chose to make this film.

For this reason, I will break from the norm and not begin with Jeff Bridges, instead delving into the stellar break-out performance from Hailee Steinfeld. She plays the intelligent, spirited Mattie Ross, daughter of a man gunned down over horses stolen by the dim-witted outlaw Tom Chaney, played by Josh Brolin. When she learns of her father’s murder, Mattie takes it upon herself to track down his killer and implement revenge.

Hailee Steinfeld delivers her lines with meticulous craft, sharp and perfectly timed, but none of her performance feels cold or calculated. Mattie’s educated words roll off her tongue, slick and smooth, often the ammunition she uses to best her foes in lingual duels. Her pairing with Jeff Bridges is a masterful match of opposites, giving the film a deeper connection between the two main characters than was present in the 1969 version, whereas John Wayne’s performance was the focus.

Enter Rueben “Rooster” Cogburn, played gloriously by Jeff Bridges. Many, I am sure, will make comparisons to the performance from John Wayne, embedded into our culture as firmly as Elvis Presley or Marilyn Monroe. On this level, I choose not to make comparisons. It’s a futile argument. However, I can say that Jeff Bridges delivers, tooth and nail, a performance worthy of John Wayne’s respect and that of our own.

Jeff Bridges captures both the hard, grizzled exterior of the aging, drunken Marshall; as well as the inner conflict of a man uncertain of his own place in history or the afterlife. He’s a good man who’s done questionable things, but his actions in Mattie’s employ will ultimately define him.

Matt Damon serves up some respectable comic relief as Texas Ranger LaBoeuf, reluctantly accompanying Cogburn and Mattie as they pursue Chaney. Damon’s performance can be a bit hard to swallow, at first, but he grows on you, becoming a character more textured and colorful than deeply layered. LaBoeuf is a man who talks a lot, but has little to say, giving the film moments of light humor.

The entire cast of TRUE GRIT shines. Josh Brolin is nearly unrecognizable as the idiot outlaw Tom Chaney while Barry Pepper stands out as Lucky Ned Pepper, the leader of the outlaw posse Chaney rides with and Cogburn’s arch-nemesis. The two actors play off each other in the final scenes with subdued fireworks, a chemistry that could only be had with two talented veteran actors.

Joel and Ethan Coen are capable of taking just about any script, usually their own, and making a great movie in just about any genre. TRUE GRIT serves as their venture into the western genre, but their brilliance is not enough to make these films so unforgettable. The Coen brothers have employed a fairly regular team of talented craftsmen throughout their careers, and two of these names deserve tremendous adulation.

Roger Deakins’ cinematography is akin to a master illustrator’s contributions to a great childrens book… one cannot succeed without the other. As a result, TRUE GRIT offers the best visual director of photography in the genre since THE ASSASSINATION OF JESSE JAMES BY THE COWARD ROBERT FORD. Likewise, Carter Burwell’s score has an unmistakable influence on the film’s ability to take the audience into this time and place, but also into the tone of the story, allowing us to experience the characters’ emotional odyssey.

Many things will be said of the Coen brothers’ TRUE GRIT, from being Oscar-worthy to blasphemy, but when all the irrelevant details are put aside and the film is viewed as its own creation, TRUE GRIT stands toe-to-toe with the best films of the year. In my personal opinion, this version of TRUE GRIT (as a whole film) trumps the 1969 version. The film is more than its lead performance.

Overall Rating: 5 out of 5 stars