Review of True Grit (2010) by Noah F — 08 Aug 2016

I'm proud to say that I received the opportunity to sit in a theater to watch this modern western masterpiece. We've all come to expect a quality, substantial film from those Coen Brothers, but after a film like No Country For Old Men, widely considered to be the Coen Brothers' finest work, it was a surprise to see them bounce right back with what is probably their second best work.

The direction perfectly constructs every scene into it's own chapter of the story (no pun intended as the film is an adaptation of a novel), the cinematography is mesmerizing as with most Coen Brothers flicks with cinematography by Roger Deakins, and the editing by "Roger Deakins" (an alias for the Coens) is worthy to the cinematography.

If I was being starkly nitpicky, I would say that unlike No Country For Old Men, the film does fall a bit uneven for about fifteen minutes of the second act, but then again, the point of the film is a slightly more mortal perception of a manhunt such as Tom Cheney's.

Even though particular clues would imply movement in one direction, they cannot get a break and when they do, third party involvement screws them out of successfully making an arrest. While Rooster Cogburn is the drunken, rough antihero of the picture, he is portrayed in a darker light.

Where as John Wayne's Rooster Cogburn was comedically an alcoholic and jokingly falls short of common decency, this Rooster Cogburn's alcoholism is terrifying and his lack of decency can be sickening at times even it's apparent that he is a good guy.

Of course, with a healthy injection of honestly sidesplitting humor, True Grit is probably the best western of the century so far.