Awesome Reviews: True Grit

AWESOME REVIEWS: TRUE GRIT

Alright, it’s been a while since I’ve had a review, but I want to make a few things clear before I start:

1) I have a lot more experience in general with movies since my last review.

2) I’m somewhat biased when it comes to the Coen Brothers… even though I’ve only seen a few of their movies, I greatly enjoy them.

3) I have NOT seen the original “True Grit”

And with that, let’s dive right in.

As with many other Coen brothers’ films, it starts off with a monologue delivered by an older Mattie Ross, whom we’re soon introduced to as played by Hailee Steinfeld. We’re told that Tom Cheney (Josh Brolin), a notorious outlaw, shot and killed Mattie’s father, and while Mattie goes to deal with her late father’s affairs, she discovers that local law enforcement does not hold much hope for finding the murderer. Undeterred, she hires Col. Reuben “Rooster” Cogburn, a rough U.S. Marshall played by Jeff Bridges to bring Cheney to justice. Unfortunately for Mattie, however, a Mr. Texas-Ranger-and-don’t-you-forget-it LeBoeuf is also out to collect the bounty on Cheney, who’s escaped into Indian territory- provided Cheney goes to Texas for prosecution- against Mattie's intentions. Cogburn and LeBoeuf head out to find him, but Mattie has no desire to miss out on the hunt.

Awesome/Not Awesome has a strict NO SPOILER policy which now compels me to stop.



Anddddd… the breakdown.

AWESOME:

1) THE SUPPORTING CAST

I know this is kind of a weird thing to list first, but for as good as the principal cast was (and they were- I’ll get to it), what really got me deeply involved in the story from the get-go was the wide variety of supporting cast members that the casting director absolutely NAILED. I mean, people were spot-on- and I feel like another movie could have been made just about the inhabitants of the town. The movie spends a good deal of time in the town before heading out to Indian territory, and between all the people at a boarding house/hotel, courtroom, undertaker’s residence, etc., I got sucked in. It was impossible not to.


2) THE PRINCIPAL CAST

While at first, Hailee Steinfeld didn’t really do it for me, I was more and more impressed with her as the movie went on. Mattie Ross is the central figure of the story- it is told from her perspective- and it was not exactly an easy role. She sorta falls into that smack-talking I-know-a-disproportionate-amount-of-information-about-everything-considering-my-age category that arose sometime around Home Alone, but she manages to make it much more endearing (as opposed to annoying like so many other characters in the type do). It was greatly satisfying seeing that she was only person for whom Cheney’s capture is personal, and I’m not sure why. You could say her character exhibited “TRUE GRIT” in her determination to have her revenge (cue laugh track here).

Matt Damon did a great job as the Texas Ranger LeBoeuf, although (for reasons I won’t explain but that may be forgivable) I think his accent wasn’t exactly consistent through the movie. I don’t know- I’d have to see it again to confirm- but it was thoroughly enjoyable to see him get into a spat with virtually anyone else in the cast- Steinfeld, Bridges, etc.- and c’mon, who wouldn’t want to see some uppity condescending don’t-mess-with-Texas asshole get his ass handed to him verbally or physically? It’s why so many people hate the Dallas Cowboys!

While I wish Josh Brolin had a bit more screen time, it’s certainly understandable why he didn’t. After all, he’s the bounty the three main characters spend most of the movie looking for. He was really solid though, and when he finally did appear- after all we’d heard about Tom Cheney- it made it that much more satisfying.

But, of course, the scene-stealer was Jeff Bridges as Rooster Cogburn. Bridges was, in a word, phenomenal. Cogburn is known for his eye patch, his knack for shooting criminals rather than bringing them to justice, and his love of White Russians [citation needed]. Like Brolin, we’re introduced to him through quick stories and glimpses at first- but the character sets the mood and pace for the whole story with the aforementioned courtroom scene. Bridges’ low, gravelly, slow voice is the perfect foil to Damon’s LeBoeuf, and as a movie-goer I found myself being guided along by Cogburn just as Ross did.

3) THE CINEMATOGRAPHY/SET/COSTUMING

I could watch this movie again without audio and still come away satisfied. You can tell how much effort was put into every shot- and if there’s one thing I hate- it’s lazy film-making. The movie wastes no time showing the intricacies of the town- the outhouse, the advertisements, the dress, etc.- but what really sells it is the vastness of the country which they seem to capture on every shot once they’re out in the Indian territory. The landscape is huge, the lone structures strategically placed, the sun perfectly positioned- and I was more and more impressed as the movie went on. By the climax and (I wish I could say more), I forgot about the characters and just got lost in the scenery. Anybody wanting to know anything about what movies should look like and what you can accomplish with attention to detail need look no further.

4) THE WRITING

There is definitely a learning curve to the language used in the film, and it took me about 15 minutes to really understand clearly what was being said- and then another 15 minutes to understand what Jeff Bridges alone was saying. That’s not a bad thing- for me, it reminds me that this was another time and adds to the scope of the story- but it is something you need to be aware of, especially if you’re not a huge Western guy (and lord knows I’m not). That being said, the dialogue is appropriate, witty, and impressive. I found myself thinking at multiple times during the movie how much research it must have taken to get the script right. I appreciate the colloquialisms and idioms of the time, and coupled with actors (see 1 and 2) that are perfect for their respective roles, you’ve got one hell of a script. I’d love to get my hands on a copy of the script and read it. (Maybe I should just get the book?)


NOT AWESOME

Most of these will be pettier things since I’ve pretty much praised the film left and right.

1) As mentioned above, I would have liked to see more Matt Damon and Josh Brolin, but it didn’t detract from the movie at all. Maybe it’s just that they were pushed so much in the ads? I don’t know.

2) At least twice there were some audio/visual problems. Like they used one take’s audio and another’s visual, or they used a take with dialogue that was cut. Again, nothing major, but when I saw it, it took me a couple seconds to figure out what the hell happened.

3) At times, it approached unnecessarily brutal. Now, I realize I’m watching a Western here, and things WERE brutal back then, so maybe this isn’t a fair criticism. But there were two/three instances that shocked me with how frankly portrayed it was. However, I would much rather have a problem with that than the alternative. NOT showing the most disturbing violence would have probably killed the atmosphere of the movie. Chalk this one up to personal bias.

4) At an hour and 50 minutes, it was slightly too long. But I have no fricking idea what I’d cut. It all seemed necessary, and the movie built the suspense well.

5) There were no slamming women in the whole thing. Totally a guy thing to say, and honestly, only a gripe now that I’m thinking about it. We could have used one smoking hot townie or something! They had whores back then! Hell, they probably had MORE whores!



Overall, on a scale of 1-10, 1 being shitty and 10 being mind-blowing, True Grit gets a…

9.5: Practically everything in this movie is done better than I’ve seen in a long, long time. Anybody who appreciates movies should be obliged to see it. I don’t think True Grit will ever be one my favorite movies- I’m just not that kind of Western guy- but it will be one of the best-made movies top-to-bottom I’ve ever seen. But perhaps the thing that most satisfied me with the movie is that with so many blockbusters out there with campy-ass writing, huge special effects, the money-making whores of movies, there are still A-list people out there making quality art. And that’s what True Grit is- art.