True Grit (2010)

Rating: • • • • ½
Age Recommendation: 15+

When my family decided to see True Grit, I was skeptical of the positive reviews it had received. There were rumors of Oscar nods to Jeff Bridges, who revives the character Reuben "Rooster" Cogburn last played by the Duke himself, John Wayne, but perhaps part of my hesitance at seeing this movie stemmed from my fixed perception of Jeff Bridges as the villain Obadiah Stane in Iron Man (2008). Maybe I thought that, as a modern Western, it would lack the charm and wit of Classical Hollywood Westerns and be fixated on CGI explosions as the 3:10 to Yuma (2007) remake tended to be. Maybe I thought the film looked dark and creepy. For whatever reason, I was determined not to like this movie. This opinion was pleasantly changed within the first five minutes of the film.

Rather than a violence-ridden, nightmare-inducing shooting fest, I found an intelligent, laugh-out-loud funny battle of words. Perhaps this is the Coen brothers magic I have heard so much about. Looking back upon their many works, I now realize that I had seen two before--Raising Arizona (1987) and O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)--though I never was as amazed with a script to take such notice. This Western contains comic genius that had my dad, who thinks movies a "waste of time," with tears of laughter in his eyes.

Having not read the novel, I cannot say how true this film is to the original, but I have heard that the ending is more true to the source than the 1969 John Wayne version. Whether this is a better ending I cannot rightly say until I see the original. What I can tell you is that this is a thoroughly enjoyable film with a sad but somewhat believable ending (for a film). For fun, I recommend you look for two scenes near the end: the first reminds me of Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and the second, following shortly thereafter, of Arwen and Frodo in The Fellowship of the Ring (2001). You will know them when you see them.

How have I failed to mention the lead role of the smart, straightforward, sassy, sharp-tongued Mattie Ross, played by Hailee Steinfeld? While Josh Brolin is billed as one of the stars, he is hardly present. I'm talking maybe ten minutes of screen time. The real star who steals the show is this fourteen-year-old girl whose story is being told so brilliantly by the Coen brothers. Let's not forget Matt Damon who plays the overly proud Texas Ranger named LaBoeuf. The camaraderie--and comedy--between Damon and Bridges is brilliant, but I still maintain that it is young Hailee whose performance is best. After all, you can't understand half the words that come out of Bridges's mouth. Rather, here is a girl who can outsmart a stubborn businessman into paying full price for the return of horses he doesn't want--and what's more is you believe it.

However, I don't want to mislead you to think this film is all fun and games. About half-way through there is some startling and graphic violence that sets the serious tone I had been expecting throughout. Definitely not something for young children, but if you were to watch it in advance and tell them when to cover their eyes they should do fine. Nothing sexual to worry about the kiddies seeing for a nice change.

One more thing I really liked about this movie was the cinematography. The movie is telling the story of Mattie and it sticks to that. The cameras, rather than sticking close to the action, have some very well done extreme long shots which work very well with the sharpshooting Damon and Bridges must perform. Plus, this very kindly distances us from a lot of the more gruesome violence. If the characters wouldn't see the blood squirting up close, why should we have to?

All in all, this movie is a splendid romp through the Old West full of wit and humor. I would say that it could be broken down as 2/3 comedy, 1/6 action, and 1/6 drama, but definitely worth seeing. Although I give it a 15+ age rating, I would say that younger family members might enjoy it as well so long as they are mature enough (I watched my first James Bond when I was 7 and I was fine). SPOILER: The really gruesome scene takes place in a cabin in the woods after Mattie must climb on the roof. Keep an eye out in the credits for "Mr. Damon's abs double," a joke credit (sorry, ladies).

Summary: This is a wonderful, believable Western full of good acting and humor. There is startling, strong violence and some racial and animal mistreatment but this could be a lot worse and the gore is limited to one brief scene. The main characters form a winning trio that you can't help but enjoy watching. Good for most ages if you can ignore the one really violent scene. Sad ending but not as bad as you might expect.

The Good: the bear man (you'll know when you see him), believable absurdity of people and situations, camera work, witty humor, interaction between Mattie, Rooster, and LaBoeuf
The Bad: meanness towards American Indians (intended for humor but really just sad in its realism)
The Even Worse: gore of the cabin scene