First, and foremost, I have not read the novel, but the Coen's version is superior to the 1969 version, starring John Wayne, for reasons I will go into later.Mattie Ross' (Hailee Steinfeld) father is murdered by Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin). Naturally, he ran off so they don't hang him. However, Mattie would much prefer Chaney get hanged for murdering her father, so she enlists the help of Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) and La Beouf (Matt Damon) to find the murdering scoundrel and have him executed.
The acting in this new adaption of "True Grit" is immensely better than the 1969 version. John Wayne was not much of an actor, essentially playing some variation of the same role, so it's a little weird that he won an Oscar for playing the original Rooster Cogburn. Jeff Bridges on the other hand, is phenomenal, then again I don't expect anything less from him. Once he put on that eyepatch he became Rooster Cogburn, a gruff, hard drinking, extraordinarily successful United States Marshall. "True Grit" also proves that Bridges plays a convincing drunk. I'm just glad the Coen Brothers brought Jeff Bridges back after working with him 12 years ago, on "The Big Lebowski." Jeff Bridges has great chemistry with the entire cast, which I will go into later. Hailee Steinfeld is immensely better than Kim Darby in the original, despite the fact she is only 14 years old. Whereas Darby came off as annoying and just not that great of an actress, Steinfeld plays the part of Mattie, perfectly. She is stubborn, determined, independent, and more than holds her own against such talents as Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon, both of whom I absolutely love. This brings us to Matt Damon, who is hilarious in this movie and provides much of the comic relief. He is extremely talented, no matter the genre. I just really enjoyed his buffoon of a character. Also, he has some funny scenes with Jeff Bridges. Matt Damon was also better than Glen Campbell. I'm pretty sure Glen Campbell was a country singer who should have never ventured into acting. Lastly, Josh Brolin's role was not that substantial, especially compared to the other three. He gets little screen time and I was just confused about how he could be murderer, he didn't come off as someone who could pull a murder off properly.
The cinematography is what I have come to expect from the Coen Brothers. It is truly beautiful and I loved it. They have a great cinematographer and hopefully they never change. Attractive outdoor shots are everywhere in this movie. Naturally you also have some wide shots of people engaging in gunfire, among other fun western activities. The coloring is very dull, with a lot of browns, green, beige, etc. This, along with the set design, or real locations, I'm not positive, helped give it the look of a western taking place in the 1800s. The original was so bright it just screamed technicolor, or something and it was truly blinding. Dull, dark colors were way more effective and I am proud of the Coen's for realizing that.
The score was not overpowering, but it was there, and added to the action and drama. Quite frequently I didn't even notice it was there, which means I am either deaf and oblivious or the wonderful Coen brothers didn't think it was necessary to have a lot of score. This was way better than the score in the original, that was prominent, but didn't really add to to movie. It even felt out of place or just cliched.
The new film started with narration from a grown Maddie and ended with a flash forward, again with a grown Maddie. I think I liked this better than Glen Campbell singing in the beginning of the original and John Wayne galloping away into a freeze frame at the end.
Several scenes, including Maddie falling into a snake pit, coming across Chaney near the river, and courtroom scene near the beginning came directly from the first film, and I am assuming the book as well. There was also a decent amount of the same dialogue in both films. But, of course the Coen Brother's version is better in every way, not just acting, although that is a major area.
Thankfully the new film was 1 hour and 50 minutes...the perfect time for a movie. Even that started to feel a bit long, maybe just because the nature of the plot is a little on the slow side. The original was over 2 hours long, which I didn't appreciate, because it didn't make the movie any better and it got obnoxious. They could have cut out tons. Luckily the Coen's were smart and cut the running time.
The Coen Brothers amaze me. They are so incredibly hard working and have made a quality film a year for the past four years. I love how they make their films as a team and how they have complete control over every aspect of it. There films are known for being dark, often funny, and including a great cast, script, and cinematography. "True Grit" wasn't as dark as their other ones, which hopefully means more people will be willing see it. Great acting, story, and cinematography, make "True Grit" another successful Coen Brother's film. 3 out of 4 stars...mainly because I saw "Black Swan" before this and there have been a couple Coen Brother's films that I have liked more.
-Joseph Sbrilli
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