This story of retribution, a quest film of quiet nature and muted eccentricity, is both wonderfully cast and superbly acted: directorially, it’s hard to find much fault in the Coen’s production of this story. Their films are renowned for weird characters and indelible characters of what can only be described as an eccentric nature, with a penchant for being a little left-of-centre, however, True Grit represents perhaps their most straightforward effort yet – even moreso than No Country For Old Men, the previous holder of that title, in my opinion. The Coen Brothers, famous for films such as O Brother Where Art Thou, Barton Fink, The Big Lebowski, Fargo and Best Picture Oscar winner No Country For Old Men, have turned their eclectic gaze towards a more mainstream entry into their oeuvre. Most reviews and articles on this film have trod the well-worn path of comparison with the 1969 John Wayne vehicle of the same name, a film which itself was also based somewhat on the original novel by Charles Portis: I’m not going to spend any more time trying to make comparisons to what is a revered (genuinely so) film in the Wayne canon, except to say that I think this version of the story is a meaner, leaner, more succinct version, and the more accessible to watch. There’s a euphemism about dark, dank caverns here, but we’re not gonna say it. As they travel through the prairie of the Old West, the trail to Chaney becomes colder and colder, until a bit of luck brings about a final confrontation that will not only ask the drunken Rooster Cogburn to realize his sense of purpose, but deliver the long-awaited chance of retribution into the hands of the young Mattie herself.
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Her quest for justice is also enabled by Texas Ranger LaBoeuf (Matt Damon), who also seeks to arrest Chaney for crimes over in Texas, a snafu Mattie doesn’t agree to, since it would mitigate her own sense of revenge.
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Mattie hires a grizzled old Federal Marshall, Ruben “Rooster” Cogburn (Jeff Bridges), to track down her father’s killer, in order for her to kill him. The story is, at its heart, quite simple – Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) arrives in a small frontier town to collect the body of her recently murdered father his murderer, a wanted outlaw known as Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin), has fled for the Indian territories, meaning local law enforcement cannot pursue him. Well filmed, with a more true-to-the-novel approach to the narrative, 2010’s True Grit has a refined, classic quality which is truly hard to ignore. Joel and Ethan Coen have done something I did not think possible in this modern age of cookie-cutter remake-happy cinematic laziness: they’ve taken a classic John Wayne film, re-cast it, retold it, and in my eyes, delivered one of the finest genre films to come along since Costner’s Open Range. Shove your Little House On The Prarie right up your ass!
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Having said that, I find myself in the unusual position of watching a remake of a genuine Hollywood classic, and actually finding myself thinking it’s the better film. Personally, I’d rather filmmakers spend time developing new ideas and stories to bring us, instead of simply recycling older films with usually less-than-impressive credentials. Remakes have a long, sad history in Hollywood, and yet people still think it’s a good idea. Typically, remakes are technically proficient yet lacking the thing that made the original truly great – that lightning in a bottle which allowed said film to transcend the dust of history to remain a true classic. I’m the first to admit that my disdain for Hollywood’s penchant for remaking classic (and not-so-classic) films from history has become something of a joke amongst the film community – everything from classic horror, drama and even drama films are being lined up for the dreaded “modernization” (or, alternatively, “updating”) for younger audiences. Synopsis: In the old West, a young girls’ father is murdered by a wanted outlaw, so she hires a Federal Marshall to hunt him down and bring him to justice. Principal Cast : Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfeld, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Barry Pepper, Domhnall Gleeson, Bruce Green, Ed Lee Corbin, Roy Lee Jones, Paul Rae, Nicholas Sadler, Elizabeth Marvel, Dakin Matthews, Leon Russom, Jake Walker, Jarlath Conroy, JK Simmons.