True Grit (2010)
True Grit (2011)Studio: Paramount Pictures, Scott Rudin Productions, Skydance Productions, and Mike Zoss Productions
Theatrical Release: December 22, 2010
Director: Joel & Ethan Coen
Rated PG-13
Genre: Western
Review by James Klein
I am not a fan of the original True Grit starring John Wayne. That's not to say I am not a John Wayne fan. I love John Wayne. One of my favorite films is The Sands of Iwo Jima. I consider The Shootist to be one of the most underrated westerns. But the film that earned John Wayne the Academy Award for Best Actor...yeah, not a big fan. The original True Grit was too comedic. Too silly. Overlong. When I heard a remake was coming out starring Jeff Bridges and directed by The Coen Brothers, I was excited. Finally a remake that can surpass the original film. A remake of a sub-par film that SHOULD be remade. The one thing this version of True Grit has in common with the one from the 60's is that I walked out a bit disappointed. Both films leave me feeling like there could have been more done, more said.
The film begins right away with the death of 14 year old Mattie Ross's father. Mattie takes it upon herself to hire a marshal or bounty hunter to track down the man who killed her father. She hires the drunk Rooster Cogburn who can be mean and tough but always gets the job done. They are joined by a younger Texas Ranger who wants to capture the fugitive as well because he killed a senator in the state of Texas . Mattie tells them both she wants the man brought to justice and hung for the death of her father and forces them to take her along on their trek.
True Grit's storyline is pretty straight forward. No twists and turns at all. Fans of the Coen Brothers who usually enjoy smart writing that is atypical to most Hollywood films will be disappointed. Next to Intolerable Cruelty, this is the Coens most mainstream film to date. The film moves along quickly but takes no time at all in getting to know the characters or develop some kind of relationship with them. The film just wasn't dramatic enough for me. Cogburn does the job he's asked to do. Mattie gets what she wants. The Texas Ranger is satisfied with the outcome and everyone's problem is solved by the end. I would have liked to have seen Mattie look at Cogburn as a new father figure that she can't have. I would have liked to have seen The Texas Ranger and Cogburn have more moments together without arguing thru the whole film. I just wasn't emotional drawn into the film. This is a popcorn film.
The actors are fine but I had a difficult time trying to understand half of what Bridges was saying. His version of Cogburn is this marbled-mouthed drunk who is a good shot with a gun. I had to keep turning to my wife asking her, "What did he say?" to which my wife hadn't a clue as well. Josh Brolin who plays the killer fugitive Tom Chaney does the same thing. Hailee Steinfeld is good as young Mattie but she also says her lines so fast that it was hard to catch what she had just said. I almost wished the film was closed captioned.
But this is not a negative review. I did enjoy the film. The cinematography and sets looked great. I was for the most part entertained. The action scenes were brutal and realistic (pushing the PG-13 rating). It's a good entertaining film. But with talent like Bridges and The Coen Brothers and an opportunity to improve on the original, this misses the mark slightly.
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