Review of True Grit (2010) by Marcus B — 13 Apr 2013

This is a very good remake of the 1969 classic of the same name. It is another good Coen brother's film, but this one reminds me of the western Unforgiven for its pace, and the fact that it feels more like a drama. The film is really well written, and acted. The only cast choice that I didn't understand was Matt Damon. I thought he was very ok. I don't think of him as a very good actor, because of how he never plays anybody else bedside's himself. The rest of the cast was great, and the performances were too. Jeff Bridges was the best in terms of acting for this film. He had a perfect accent that sounded like Carl Childers from the Billy Bob Thornton classic Sling Blade. He also had the personality right, and was just overall perfect. Hailee Steinfeld also impressed me with her debut as an actress. She seemed to be very intense for a fourteen year old, and she did seem very determined to catch her father's murderer. The only thing that was wrong was that she didn't seem very sad that her father died. I am not sure weather they told her that they didn't want her to be, but I thought it was a little weird that she wasn't sad.

Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin) murdered Mattie Ross's (Hailee Steinfeld) father out of cold blood. She then hires bounty hunter Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) to find him. She pays him 50 dollars and wants to go with him. At first he refuses to that, because he doesn't want to put her in danger, but she is so intense about killing her fathers murderer that he eventually agrees. When Cogburn is asked "How many men have you shot?" he replies "Shot or killed?" That implies that he is experienced, and he has done it a lot. Mattie Ross hired him because she had been told that he has "True Grit." He is a great shot, and he gets into a few shootouts, which he always wins. He is a terrific western movie character, and Jeff Bridges is great in it. This was a very good film.

The Coen Brothers are always great, and they always seem to be original, but they never lose their style that made them famous. They are genius's, and two of my all time favorite film makers. I haven't seen the original, but I have heard it is not nearly as good as this.