True Grit

True Grit

This 2011 Oscar nominated film, directed by Ethan and Joel Coen, is a remake of the 1969 classic starring John Wayne.  Unfortunately for me, I have not had the pleasure to see the original or to witness Wayne’s Oscar winning performance.  I will rectify that problem within the foreseeable future.  However, as for the Coen’s version of True Grit, the film gathered 10 Oscar nominations, which regrettably it was unable to tough out even a single victory.  This amateur movie critic finds it mind-numbingly difficult to understand how a film can be nominated in that many categories and not come away with some kind of hardware.  Be that as it may, this film does have its own character and charm.

Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) starts the movie off by narrating how a drifter, Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin), cut short the life of her father.  We then get to meet the spunky, intelligent, and extremely well spoken 14-year old as she arrives in the town in which her father was murdered.  Mattie’s first order of business is to identify her father’s body, which rests with the local undertaker.  After her encounter with the mortician, Mattie heads over to the owner of the horse stable where her father boarded his steed.  She holds the man personally liable for the theft of the horse and demands restitution for her family’s loss of property. The exchange between the two is nothing short of comical, but in true Mattie style she persuades the gentleman that settling their dispute would be much easier than allowing a judge or jury to sort out the legalities of the situation.

After receiving her payment in full from the stable owner, Mattie sets out to find the best lawman that money can buy.  Regrettably, she finds Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) who hits the bottle a little too heavily and allows his six-shooter the latitude afforded to Marines in the line of duty.  He initially refuses her offer to find her father’s killer, but then decides to accept and begins his hunt in earnest.

Mattie learns that a Texas Ranger, LaBoeuf (pronounced LeBeef) (Matt Damon), has come to town seeking Chaney as well.  LeBoeuf briefly explains his interest in Chaney and Mattie rebukes him by insisting that the criminal would have to face the charges for her father’s murder before returning to Texas.  Obviously, this does not go over well with the ranger and he strikes up an alliance with Cogburn unbeknownst to our little heroine.  The trio works together in an effort to bring the outlaw to justice.  Do they get him?  Is justice served?  Well, there is only one way to find out!

This film was a little slow for me.  The pacing of this movie could have been a little faster as I tended to lose interest during certain parts.  The comedy portion of the film was enjoyable, but seemed too intermittent for my liking.  The acting was good, but I didn’t feel like they hit a home run.  Although Steinfeld and Bridges had shining moments, it felt like they over embellished at times.  Overall, the cinematography was good, the writing ok and the acting was decent.  True Grit didn’t quite live up to my expectation, but was an interesting viewing experience.  I give this film three and a half stars.  I would recommend putting this on your list of movies to see, but just not at the top of the list.

That’s How Matt Sees It!