True Grit, despite being co-directors the Coen brother’s first traditional western, is far from the first among their truly impressive roster of films to feature a very western aesthetic. Many will see, and with good reason, comparisons to 2007’s No Country for Old Men, and even their debut feature Blood Simple (1984); both of which were a great testament to the enduring legacy of directors like Sergio Leoni and Lucio Fulci, with their dirty and gritty take on a genre which in early 60’s America had become rather stale. It is interesting to take this into account however because far from taking on remaking something in the spaghetti western oeuvre (something which asia has taken on recently, rather bizarrely: check out “The Good, The Bad and The Weird” and “Sukiyaki Western Django”), this reimagining of a book originally made into a very traditional western, for which John Wayne won his only Oscar, is as dirty, violent and unforgiving as anything the Coens have taken on before.
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| Bridges and Steinfeld as Rooster and Mattie |
The Coens are no strangers to remakes, taking on the dark Ealing comedy classic The Ladykillers (1955), with their Deep South romp of the same name in 2004. True Grit however is a different beast entirely, drawing from the book rather than the John Wayne original, it stays in keeping with the book’s dark tone and casts Jeff Bridges in the John Wayne role of Rooster Cogburn and Matt Damon as Texas Ranger LaBoeuf. Unknown Hailee Steinfeld plays Mattie Ross, a stubborn 14 year old girl who has travelled from her home to the town where her father was killed to see that his remains are sent home, but unbeknownst to her family has also taken on the task of tracking down her father’s killer and bringing him to justice. For this she recruits U.S. Marshall Reuben ‘Rooster’ Cogburn (Bridges), known for his ruthlessness and efficiency, and joined by LaBoeuf after finding that they hunt the same man: Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin), and pursue him into Native American territory.
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| "Do either of you require medical attention?" |
As with all Coen brothers’ films, enough cannot be said about the cast of the film. Not only do the main stars sparkle (Brolin is particularly menacing as Tom Chaney) but as with films like O Brother Where Art Thou? (2000) and The Big Lebowski (1998), the cast of hilariously deranged bit parts make up a wholly satisfying journey. Bridges is well cast as the angry old man Rooster, who is much less of a white knight than Wayne’s, Matt Damon is pitch-perfect as the showy Ranger but it is Steinfeld who really shines. Strong, resilient, unswerving, charismatic, diligent, smart and unbelievably stubborn, even in the face of men more than four times her age, Mattie is a deserved role model for young women everywhere. The film looks fabulously dirty; from the stinking back room where Mattie finds a sleeping Cogburn towards the beginning of the film, to the freezing woods where the duo find a hanging man 50 feet from the ground, the setting is unforgettable. The cinematography too is utterly enthralling and certain scenes demand that one stand back and look at just how bloody beautiful they are. With Academy nods in so many different categories, particularly with Steinfeld up for best supporting actress and Bridges in the best actor slot for the second year running, True Grit is completely deserving of its critical attention. Beautiful and funny, but also dark and relentless, True Grit is pacey at only 110 minutes and entirely engaging throughout. A wonderful cast, not just the stars but the bit players too, coupled with a speedy plot and amazing scenery makes True Grit one of the finest westerns in recent memory.
