Movie Review: "True Grit"

True Grit

(2010)
Directed by: The Coen Brothers
Starring: Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin,
Barry Pepper, and Hailee Steinfeld
Rated: PG-13 for some intense sequences of western violence
including disturbing images

While the original is always herald as the film which won John Wayne his Oscar, the Coen's new adaptation of the movie True Grit is far less of the clean-cut, glossy colored movie of it's counterpart. The Coens brilliantly make a solid film with their signature style and witty dialogue. The Coens' crew rise to the task once again, especially Carter Burwell, whose wonderful score is my favorite of his since Fargo. The film, however, also breaks their mold a little. You still have the classic lines from the book/first film, the plot is relatively conventional, and it has a somewhat happy ending. (I'm being completely honest.) The true reason True Grit works is because of the fine talent in front of the camera. Matt Damon, Barry Pepper, and Josh Brolin all succeed, but the emotional core of the film is really in Jeff Bridge's Rooster and newcomer Hailee Steinfeld's Maddie. Rooster is your typical crusty-yet-humorous lawman, who is too much of a drunk gunslinger to be anything close to a respectable man, while Maddie is the wise-beyond-her-years teenager, who appears to be more tough than her male, adult companions. Yet, in the brilliance of the movie, these individuals rise to the occasion; for a moment, Maddie becomes the child she truly is and Rooster's integrity rises to the level of a man. For a simple moment, they are a family, and the moment changes their lives. Add on the biblical themes (including it's musical score), and True Grit is as good as the original. It may not feature The Duke, but The Dude still abides.