Review of True Grit (2010) by Ethan P — 18 Nov 2015

The Coen Brothers are very rarely known to deliver a rubbish film, their ability to craft quirky scripts, with off the wall characters and seriously dark over tones, has been an audience and award winner for 3 decades now and True Grit is no exception.

When her father is murdered by a cowardly low life, 14 year old Maddie goes on the hunt for the man responsible, using her intelligence and determination to enlist the help of a US marshal and Texan ranger, to aid her cause.

Its a wonderfully simple concept, crafted so expertly and built upon in so many ways, its truly engaging to witness. True Grit, comes straight out the gate wearing its tone firmly on its sleeves, its brilliant blend of humor and mature content, make it such a pleasure to watch, feeling invigorating and never as simple as it ultimately is.

With a stellar cast in Bridges, Damon and Brolin, Hallie Steinfeld comes hurtling on screen with a performance that matches the Hollywood heavyweights. The script is dialogue heavy, with its use of eloquent language always prominent, however the young actor, never flinches or falters, delivering line after line flawlessly and expertly and crafting a performance that grips from start to finish.

Each actor takes on their roles in such a brilliant fashion, all of them stand out with their own character traits, while managing to never outshine each other, its a brilliant piece of ensemble work that holds a strong script high.

Visually the best cinematographer in town, Roger Deakins, yet again provides a flawless and breath taking vision of the wild west, his use of lighting is inventive and powerful and his ability to frame harrowing images, in such a unique and stand out fashion is beyond credit.

True Grit paces itself perfectly, galloping along at a continual pace throughout, it introduces characters at exactly the right time, allows everyone room to flourish and revels in its performances and script writing stature.

It looks glorious, it sounds glorious and it is presented in expert fashion. Maybe not as genre defining or daring as other westerns, True Grit takes a simple concept and executes it to perfection.