True Grit

Okay, let me first say that I did not see the first incarnation of Charles Portis' novel basically because I am not a John Wayne fan. I say that to say I have nothing to compare Jeff Bridges portrayal of Federal Marshal Rooster Cogburn to but in my opinion he did a pretty good job. It would have been better though had he put more time between this role and his Oscar award winning performance in "Crazy Heart" as Bad Blake. Bad and Rooster are pretty much the same character, drunken bafoons initially but finding redemption in the end so there wasn't much of a stretch for Jeff. That being said, Rooster is bad ass and Jeff plays him with some serious subtle nuances. Like how Rooster can go from being a scruffy drunken idiot one minute to cold blooded killer the next and everything in him changes. His stance changes, his glare changes, and his demeanor changes. It's impressive to watch.

Whats even more impressive than Jeff's portrayal though is the debut of Hailee Steinfeld playing the precocious and frighteningly intelligent Mattie Ross. This your lady definitely has the ability to have a great career because she can really act and she makes this movie all hers. Mattie is determined to find the man that killed her father and that's a difficult task for anyone but how Mattie goes about doing it is just flat out impressive and for a first time actor, Hailee was exceptional. She goes to collect her fathers body to bring him home, settle up his accounts, and to find his killer. For a fourteen year old girl she is hardly taken serious by anyone and in fact everyone tells her to go back home and be a good girl. To say Mattie is underestimated is putting it lightly but she forges on, gets her fathers accounts settled, hires the one federal marshal that everyone is seemingly scared of and agrees to set out in indian territory to find her man. Matt Damon shows up as Texas Ranger LeBoeuf (pronounced LaBeef which I found oddly funny) and plays it by the book and with all the hero stardom being a Texas Ranger comes with. He brings the humor to a movie that could have easily avoided it but it was welcomed. LeBoeuf is also chasing the same man Mattie is after because he shot a Senator in Texas and that makes things kind of sticky as far as the arrangements and agreements go. The banter that goes back and forth between Cogburn, Mattie, and LeBoeuf is sharp. If you know the Coen brothers past works to say the writing is well done and witty is like saying water is wet, it's a given.

The one man they are all after is Tom Chaney played by Josh Brolin and to say I was let down by Tom Chaney and the way it was played is legitimate. Maybe I need to read the book but in this movie they build Tom Chaney up to be the biggest villian this side of Jesse James and a bigger badass than Rooster. Even Texas Ranger LeBoeuf stated that taking Chaney is at least a two man job so you're looking forward to these men going to war when they eventually meet. It's a let down when you realize that Tom Chaney is a complete idiot and isn't even the leader of his gang. That falls to Barry Pepper (remember Barry Pepper?) who plays coincidentally Lucky Ned Pepper. Now Pepper and Cogburns clash was impressive but that's not what you wanted and what happens to Chaney is anticlimactic at best.

To me the best part of the film was the end when Rooster does all he can to save Mattie's life. You come to realize that he actually loves this little girl and would do anything for her. Somewhere along the way he and you the viewer realizes that she's actually the one with true grit. While I enjoyed the movie I think it's missing something in the story. The acting was great, the direction was competent, and the cinematography by Roger Deakins was in my opinion Oscar worthy but overall the film felt like something was off. Maybe I need to see it again or maybe it will always seem this way, I don't know but what truly disappointed me was the score. Carter Burwell who has worked with the Coen brothers before brings you a completely forgettable score which is regrettable considering the wonderful opportunity this movie genre brings to create something really moving and stirring, just ask Ennio Morricone.

Would I recommend this movie? I don't know. Let me see it again and then I'll let you know for sure. See you at the theater!