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True Grit (2010)

Time Out rating

Average user rating

39 reviews

Synopsis

The Coen brothers return, offering their own distinctive take on Charles Portis's revenge-western novel. Jeff Bridges assumes the role of the cycloptic avenger Rooster Cogburn which won John Wayne an Oscar in 1969.

Movie review

From Time Out London

The Coens as auteurs take a back seat to the Coens as respectful master craftsmen for this superb adaptation of Charles Portis’s 1968 Wild West novel, ‘True Grit’. Following the success of ‘A Serious Man’ and ‘No Country for Old Men’, the brothers have adapted a book which in 1969 inspired a decent but only mildly entertaining film that was in thrall to the vanity of John Wayne. Here, they give back to that tale the same grit that attracts young teen Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) to the grizzled, louche US Marshal, Reuben ‘Rooster’ Cogburn.

Mattie is a pragmatic and determined young girl, with a maturity way beyond her years. She arrives in a small town where her father was recently murdered and her mission is simple: to hire a man to help her track down the killer. The sheriff recommends Rooster as the ‘meanest’ option, and that’s enough. She ignores Rooster’s rudeness and drinking and stalks him until he agrees. It’s the beginning of an oddball, Platonic romance, although the Coens ditch the explicit admiration of Rooster’s ‘she reminds me of me’ line from the 1969 film. Theirs is a testy partnership that thaws until they reach a lasting bond.

The opening shot of Mattie’s father lying dead outside a tavern, lit only by the light from the porch sets the scene for the Coens’ attractive yet no-nonsense spin on this tale. It also establishes the film’s look. Before Mattie and Rooster head into the wild, the film’s colours range from oatmeal white and sackcloth brown to urine yellow. Once outdoors, Roger Deakins’s photography honours the barren, wintry landscape but holds back from romantic longing. There are two montage sequences of journeys over land, and that’s enough to establish the epic nature of the story and the place.

Bridges is laidback, irascible and mumbling as Rooster, and all the better for it. But the Coens’ trump card is Steinfeld. Thirteen at the time of filming, she’s a revelation. She plays Mattie as hard, but not cold, and is smart enough to show the chinks in her armour. Matt Damon takes the Glen Campbell role as LaBoeuf and plays it much less pretty as the Texas Ranger who joins Mattie and Rooster in their horseback hunt.

The Coens have made a western that assumes a pleasing position between stately and earthy. There’s plenty of black humour and the brothers don’t ignore the grim realities of danger and death, but this is no ‘The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada’. They scrimp on neither warmth nor wit. There’s love, too, for the values, language and landscape of the time, and as such it’s a fairly traditional film, as stressed by Carter Burwell’s quietly monumental and wistful score. It could be the Coens’ most straightforward film, but it’s also one of their best.

Author: Dave Calhoun

Time Out London Issue 2112: 10 - 16 February, 2011

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User reviews of this film

John Cooper said...

Posted on Feb 14 2012 14:50 One of the best westerns I've seen, and though I didn't understand half of what Jeff Bridges was saying, I
could still make out the marvellous line . .. If they
were wantin` to be buried proper, they shudda got killed in the summer` a reference to the frozen ground
of the indian territory where much of film takes place.
The language of the film, with its colourful nineteenth
century verbosity is authentic, and the Coens capture
the spirit and the ethos of these dangerous time. The unpredictable shift in seasons . . . one moment winter,
next moment summer . . seems to reflect the shiftiness
of the many of the characters . . who are impressively
capable of humour at times of extreme stress . . .(
probably due to the imbibing of prodigious amounts of whisky. What is also impressive is the film's refusal to
settle for the sentimentality of the likable music score,
opting for a realistic denouement which is strangely moving. The acting is committed and all involved
should be congratulated on managing to become
creatures of the 1870's American. where despite the harshness of the times, honour and integrity were still
to be found.

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Do you have more great ar said...

Posted on Jan 24 2012 01:30 Do you have more great artclies like this one?

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I didn't know where to fi said...

Posted on Aug 23 2011 01:16 I didn't know where to find this info then kboaom it was here.

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Articles like this really said...

Posted on Aug 22 2011 23:00 Articles like this really grease the shafts of konlwegde.

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Andy S said...

Posted on Aug 15 2011 12:02 A wonderful, if flawed, Western, with a fabulous turn from Jeff Bridges and debutant Hailee Steinfeld who puts in a stunning performance eager to avenge her father’s murder. As usual with the Coens there are some surreal moments but overall it was pretty coherent, funny and enjoyable. The flaws, though, include Bridges muffled dialogue (thank God for subtitles!), no reference to the girl’s Indian heritage and the ending was rather rushed and unsatisfying. However, Barry Pepper nearly steals the entire thing with a fantastic creepy appearance as a filthy looking outlaw, but Josh Brolin was wasted and Matt Damon possibly mis-cast. Why do directors think he’s worth it? Get Guy Pearce instead! Overall, a decent 4/5.

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prettyvintagethings said...

Posted on Jun 24 2011 21:03 Excellent film.Superbly acted and was enjoyed with my 13 year old son.Acting and story were excellent.

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chris jackson said...

Posted on May 23 2011 14:48 got bored , what was the fuss about

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the native said...

Posted on Mar 08 2011 05:43 As a person who grew up in Ft. Smith and is familiar with the court records of this time period, I am amused to see comments that the film is not realistic, since Portis lifted most of the incidents and dialogue straight out of the court records and diaries of the US Marshalls who served the district, and the film in turn follows much of the book word for word. New Mexico also does a good stand in for the Oklahoma Territory. The only thing missing is the southern drawl that characterized the speech of people who grew up in that part of Arkansas during that time period--oh and Mattie's frequent references to her Presbyterianism along with her subsequent career as a banker. This is not a parody folks, this is very close to the real thing. Much better than the John Wayne buffoonery of the previous film.

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lilchris said...

Posted on Mar 06 2011 11:40 jules - "turned it off"?! are you a projectionist?

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TRUTHTELLER. said...

Posted on Mar 06 2011 01:46 The Coen brothers are really starting to irritate with their re-makes of excellent films.
They actually had the temerity to remake The Ladykillers.
The original True Grit was an excellent movie and won John Wayne an oscar.
This movie is also an excellent film with a terrific performance from Jeff Bridges.

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N. Kavala said...

Posted on Mar 05 2011 22:06 Entertaining. I was not bored. But everything stayed shallow, suspended in a sort of mellow-glossy artificiality. Best aspect of the film for me was the antique American which meant I had to work to follow the dialogue. A good thing. Maybe I would have rather either realism (the film was not believable on just about any level) or out an out parody. This was very gentle parody. Of course every Hollywood movie is a parody. This is at least a classy one.

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jules said...

Posted on Mar 04 2011 22:54 turned it off after 10 minutes, couldn't understand how a 14 year old girl could exist this time it seemed unrealistic.

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Cappybear said...

Posted on Mar 03 2011 21:39 After all the ballyhoo, I found this film slightly disappointing. It's as well I'd read the book and seen the 1969 film otherwise I would have struggled with Jeff Bridges' often inaudible delivery of his lines. Perhaps he should have had subtitles. Perhaps, too, the Coen Brothers should have taken fewer liberties with the book. On balance, no better or worse than the John Wayne movie.

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Bartleby said...

Posted on Mar 02 2011 10:30 Thoroughly enjoyed this and have no complaint about the film at all.
However, I have found slightly troubling the way that critics and publicists have tried to diminish the earlier film. I just watched the original one a couple of weeks back and there's barely a cigarette paper's width of difference between the plot and dialogue of both. Both were pretty faithful to Portis' book. Of course, the 2011 has grittier and grungier visual style but that's as much down to the way filmmaking fashions change as much as anything else. And Jeff Bridges is wonderful as Cogburn, but don't let anyone say that John Wayne wasn't massively charismatic in the
earlier one.
My advice: see (and enjoy) both.

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villardi said...

Posted on Mar 01 2011 19:19 Really enjoyable. Acting, dialogue, landscapes, historical feel and story all top notch. Hailee Steinfeld is the glue that holds it all together. Loved her scene when she was negotiating a price for her late father's horses and possessions early in the film. Bridges pretty good and Damon very good. Shame it didn't do better at the Oscars.

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