Review by Spencer Gordon
Photo provided by True Grit
True Grit
Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen
Starring Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin and Hailee Steinfeld
Rated PG-13 for some intense sequences of western violence and disturbing images
The Coen brothers (Fargo, No Country For Old Men) are known for their distinct style of storytelling and clever plot lines. They never seem to present a story that is like anything movie-goers have seen before. The brothers’ style made it even more peculiar that with True Grit not only does the duo remake a previous film, but they also create a hard-gripping Western without the accustomed “R” rating that is a staple of Coen films. Although their production choices were curious when making this latest movie, the two still turned it into a gritty-feeling Western that hopefully brings the genre back to life.
The film centers on Maddie Ross (Steinfeld) and her vow to revenge her father, murdered by the outlaw Tom Chaney (Brolin). Ross is a clever fourteen-year-old who is more knowledgeable than most of the illiterate adults she encounters, so she decides to hire a bounty hunter to accompany her to capture Chaney. She hires the meanest, drunkest one she can find: Rooster Cogburn (Bridges) who takes the job after some clever convincing by Ross. She also meets a Texas Ranger named Le Boeuf (Damon) who is also looking for Chaney for a different crime. Soon enough the unlikely trio are on the hunt to capture the criminal.
Although I did not see the original, from what information I gathered the remake is good, if not better than the 1969 version that got John Wayne his only Oscar win. All I can say is that the three leads, Bridges, Damon and the impressive Steinfeld, are all equally impressive. There’s a lot of Oscar buzz around Steinfeld, who steals the show over the acting powers of Bridges and Damon, despite being only thirteen during production. She will get at least a nomination come Oscar time, and even though in my opinion Natalie Portman from Black Swan gave a more dynamic and gritty performance, I wouldn’t mind Steinfeld winning the Best Actress award.
The most pleasing aspect of this film is the dialogue, the quintessential filmmaking tool that the Coens are famous for. Their writing gave this film a lot of humor and I was laughing throughout the movies, especially at some of the lines Bridges and Steinfeld delivered. The humor, however good, never distracts the audience from the story at hand, which still remained dark and real despite the numerous one-liners and wise cracks.
However even with great acting and strong writing, this film’s final act left me very disappointed. I won’t get into spoiler territory, but the movie takes a different turn than expected, and in a film like this one where the characters are physically searching for their goal, the ending isn’t satisfactory. The rising action of the plot line is surprisingly halted and then actually drops in intensity a little bit before abruptly starting up again. Because of this sudden miscue in plot development, the ending felt very rushed.
Then, on top of this odd misstep, the film takes viewers in a different direction after the climax of the film by creating a subplot that seriously had nothing to do with the rest of the film. I walked out of the theater very perplexed as to why the Coens chose to end the film the way they did, but to be honest, it is nothing like the very peculiar ending to their previous effort A Serious Man. To be fair, the film was a remake as well as an adaptation of a novel, so the weakness in the story doesn’t have to be the Coen’s fault. But in today’s modern filmmaking, movies like The Social Network are based off of true events and tweaked for a more dramatic film. True Grit just didn’t have that dramatic ending punch that great films need.
Overall, the film is one of the best of 2010, despite its flaws. I hope it breaks ground to provide movie-goers with gritty westerns like Clint Eastwood and Wayne used to produce. True Grit is a step away from the Coens’ usual repertoire of filmmaking, but nevertheless the same dark and witty humor is found.
Grade: B+ for great acting and a great beginning and middle of the film, yet unfortunately the ending was too disappointing to ignore.
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