Review of True Grit (2010) by Dylan D — 11 Sep 2013

Wow. True Grit is every bit the superior to the already-excellent 1969 film of the same name, and it's arguably better than the source novel, too. There's little else to say that hasn't been said; this is an achievement of filmmaking the likes of which only come around every so often, and there haven't been too many more complete movies made between this and the Coen Brothers's fantastic Oscar-winning No Country For Old Men.

It's safe to label the pair of Joel and Ethan amongst the top five filmmakers working today, if not the absolute best. Their uncanny knack for making not movies, but treasures of cinema -- instant classics -- is almost unmatched.

Of course, it only helps when the films are based on novels from such acclaimed writers as Cormac McCarthy and Charles Portis, but that they can translate them so perfectly from word to screen is truly an amazing accomplishment.

Everything else about True Grit is fantastic, too; from the set design to the costuming, from the score to the acting, there's not a weak element in the film and this is easily one of the top five pictures of 2010.