Review of True Grit (2010) by Quacker — 16 Jan 2011

True Grit does not tell a traditional archetype-based story. We don't see Mattie Ross start out naive and powerless and grow stronger on her journey. She's intelligent, driven, and capable from the beginning.

Rooster Cogburn never really loses his wild, do-as-I-please attitude, nor does LaBoeuf really lose his arrogant superiority. instead the movie shows what I think is a more realistic depiction of a cowboy/western adventure.

Yes, it was paced slow. Yes, there were scenes where they are just babbling or doing nothing. Yes, it lacks the theatrics and (overdone) aesthetics of recent movies. But I don't imagine a western journey being fast - paced, easy or pleasurable, or very exciting.

Why were there boring and slow scenes? That's all they could do while they traveled. In terms of the acting, I think Matt Damon was miscast - not a terrible job on his part, but it was lacking in believability.

He does the accent pretty well, but he's just not a cowboy. Hallie Steinfeld was great - the maturity and stubbornness was spot on. But Jeff Bridges was my favorite portrayal. I thought he was perfect for the role.

He pulled off a messy, throaty, alcoholic marshall with a bit of a spark, and had some of my favorite one-liners. Overall I enjoyed the movie and it had a decent message and a dramatic finish. Definitely a gem shining in a load of Hollywood's fresh manure.