True Grit (2010) *****

 

I recently lost some faith in the writer/director team of Joel and Ethan Coen. I watched their 1994 film "The Hudsucker Proxy," which, frankly, sucked . To clear my palate and remind myself why I am a Coen bros. fan, I re-watched their 2010 remake of 1969's “True Grit.”

Hailee Steinfeld, who was 14 at the time, just like her character, plays Mattie Ross. She travels to Fort Smith, Arkansas to hire a marshall to hunt down her father's killer, Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin). Chaney is known to have fled into Oklahoma, Indian Territory. This puts him mostly beyond the reach of the law. Mostly. Mattie hires Marshall Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges), a lawman known for his tenacity and ruthlessness in hunting down fugitives. Joined off and on by a conceited Texas Ranger named Laboeuf (Matt Damon), the bickering pair pursue Chaney and his gang across a lawless landscape.

Mattie is one of the great literary characters. Rooster Cogburn is quite a character himself, but Mattie is the true hero of the story. She never hesitates to tell people what she thinks of them, which does not win her many friends, but her tenacity, her will, and her true grit earn her the kind of friends that will do anything for her.

Displaying the Coen brothers' trademark blend of humor and realistic violence, “True Grit” is simply a great movie, with a heart as big as the Oklahoma sky. While the 1969 movie version of “True Grit” did a pretty good job capturing the spirit of Charles Portis's 1968 novel, the Coens hew more closely to the novel, including taking care to tell the story through the eyes of Mattie. They have also assembled one hell of a cast. Bridges and Damon are perfect, and Hailee Steinfeld is a revelation. The movie did not win any Academy awards, but it got ten nominations, including best acting nominations for Bridges and Steinfeld, all well-deserved.

Now, the original 1969 "True Grit" is a fine, fine movie, maybe John Wayne's finest. As good as Wayne is in it, however, his supporting cast leaves something to be desired. Kim Darby's version of Mattie engenders more annoyance than awe, and Glen Campbell is, well, about as good as you would expect from a singer. John Wayne has to carry the entire movie, and so, while his version is an excellent movie, it is the 2010 version that is truly great.

5 stars out of 5