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Wednesday, December 22, 2010

MOVIE REVIEW
True Grit
Mattie Gets Her Gun, Her Man And Her Glory

Jeff Bridges as Rooster Cogburn and Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross in The Coen Brothers' new film "True Grit". 
Paramount

by Omar P.L. Moore/PopcornReel.com        Follow popcornreel on Twitter FOLLOW
Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Joel and Ethan Coen's "True Grit", the directors are quick to say, is not a remake of the 1969 John Wayne film.  Rather, it is their interpretation of Charles Portis' grim novel, complete with the filmmakers' trademark stylistic flourishes.  The film, which begins with the Biblical proverb, "The wicked flee when none pursueth", opened across North America today.

Just after the American Civil War, U.S. Marshal Reuben "Rooster" Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) is recruited by the plucky, whip-smart 14-year-old Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) to capture Tom Chaney, a Choctaw Indian (Josh Brolin, in a cameo appearance) for the murder of her father.  Mattie wants "to kill him myself", she eagerly declares.  Cogburn is one of two sloppy but serious men who trek into the wilderness to accomplish their assigned task.  The other is LaBeouf (Matt Damon), a self-proclaimed Texas Ranger, whose name feels more like a running joke than anything.  (Where's LaBeouf?, Mattie asks at one point, and a 1980s Wendy's Hamburgers commercial flashes through the mind.)

Mattie is fearless, ahead of her time and brave enough to assert herself in an age decades before women in America won the right to vote.  (One character tells Mattie: "I don't need an affidavit.  I just need your silence.")  She stands ably on her own two feet, albeit among a one-eyed, "fat" galoot who can barely shoot straight, and a hard-headed injured, 30-something Ranger whose idea of masculinity is pulling out a switch and striking Mattie with it (when not wishing to kiss her.) 

Of the men, Cogburn oozes the scars of many a battle as much in his voice as his body.  He's up for the fight, but more apt in these late days of life for some rounds of whisky drinking.  Men on both sides of the dividing line of misguided and outlaw mock and ridicule Mattie, but she, like Frances McDormand's character in the Coens' "Fargo" turns out to be the strongest link.  The father-daughter dynamic between Mattie and Cogburn is a treat, as is the quiet, reflective mood of the disciplined script by Mssrs. Coen and Coen. 

Mr. Bridges smartly makes Cogburn his own, rather than duplicate Mr. Wayne's Oscar-winning effort.  Relentlessly physical and unselfconscious, Mr. Bridges stumbles, ambles and staggers through as the weary Cogburn, effectively branding this famed (and previously Oscar-winning character.)  Mr. Damon's reluctant and understated approach to LaBeouf makes for a fine contrast between two men of different generations spoiling for a bounty.  Yet the revelation of "True Grit" is the astonishing big screen debut of young Miss Steinfeld as the heroic Mattie, no shrinking violet.  Utterly in command of both her role and the film, Miss Steinfeld's unabashed confidence (and containment) in her craft shines through so brightly that she is as formidable a performer as any of the veterans on screen.  She is likely to win the Oscar next year for her supporting work here, Jacki Weaver not withstanding.

This gloriously evocative western (beautifully shot by the brilliant cinematographer Roger Deakins, who never, it seems, has a bad day at the office) is not as deep as the prior edition of the film.  There's a halting humor throughout this 21st century "True Grit", which indeed stays true to the genre while gently parodying it.  Underlying the film's lightness is a warmth and emotion that defines a tender bond between a father and daughter.  "True Grit" is one of the Coens' more affecting and touching pictures, if not among their best.  Absent from much of this film is the directors' reliably harsh indictment of human nature, even if the nebbish-like behaviors and idiosyncratic ticks of the anthropological animal they are fascinated by do rear their heads.

Carter Burwell's (Oscar ineligible, sigh) original score is smooth, precise and serene, punctuating the deliberate pace of the story, without thundering down on or overwhelming the audience as the music scores in Westerns sometimes do.

Above all, "True Grit" is a pleasure to behold and enjoy for fans and non-fans of Westerns alike, and it's very easy to sit through more than once.  Time flies when you're having fun.

With: Barry Pepper, Elizabeth Marvel, Dakin Matthews, Jarlath Conroy, Paul Rae, Domhnall Gleeson, Bruce Green, Peter Leung, Ed Lee Corbin.

"True Grit" is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association Of America for some intense sequences of western violence including disturbing images.  The film's running time is one hour and 50 minutes.

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