True Grit (2010)

Dir.: Joel Coen
Plot: In the post-Civil War West, a fourteen year-old girl and a drunken marshal form an unlikely partnership to find her father's killer.

Well, the folks in Hollywood have finally deigned to release True Grit in the UK, and not a moment too soon - the waiting was killing me. The Coens are my favourite filmmakers of the modern era and seeing a new film of theirs in the cinema is like being able to go back in time and see a Frank Capra or Howard Hawks movie on opening night. Luckily, thanks to some sharp-elbowed maneoeuvring, I managed to bag myself the job of reviewing it for The Oxford Student (editorial privilege) and I thought I'd share it with you here, a whole four days before it will be appearing in print. So, without further ado...

For a while, it seemed as though the Coen brothers made films in two distinct modes: affectionate, nostalgic pastiche (The Hudsucker Proxy, O Brother Where Art Thou) and hard-edged, blackly comic thrillers (No Country For Old Men, Fargo). However, in True Grit they seem to have finally found a way to combine the two, and the result is a terrific piece of filmmaking.

In 1880, fourteen year-old Mattie Ross sets out to avenge the death of her father at the hands of a shady drifter named Tom Chaney. However, between her and her goal stand an inhospitable landscape, murderous marauders and the brutality of the frontier, so she persuades alcoholic lawman Rooster Cogburn to help her track the killer into Indian Territory. Cogburn is played with gnarled cantankerousness by Jeff Bridges, immersing himself completely into the grizzled marshal in a very fine piece of character acting. Matt Damon, however, should not be overlooked for his highly polished turn as the arrogant, hot-tempered Texas Ranger also on Chaney’s tail, with Damon near-unrecognisable under facial hair and dirt. The only criticism that I would make as far as the cast of characters is concerned is that whilst it is certainly a treat to see more of Josh Brolin after No Country For Old Men, his character Tom Chaney is never really developed. We know he killed Mattie's father, but we never really know why and he doesn't get given much time to explain, in any case. However, this is a minor criticism which doesn't detract from Brolin's performance, which does as much as possible with an underwritten role.

The 1969 version might have revolved around John Wayne, but this new adaptation sticks to author Charles Portis’ original vision, with the main focus being on Mattie Ross, played forcefully by impressive newcomer Hailee Steinfeld. Mattie is a unique character from her first appearance, when she sets about settling her father’s affairs with a steely briskness which is fascinating. The clash between her Calvinist worldview and dour demeanour and the slovenly, drunken Cogburn reminded me a lot of the relationship between Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart in The African Queen. Mattie at first appears a million miles away from Cogburn, but the two share a flinty determination and stern frontier hardiness which lend an intriguing symmetry to their partnership. Above all, though, True Grit is an adventure story; a gripping, earthy Western in the finest tradition of John Ford or Howard Hawks. The Coens seem to be setting aside their trademark off-kilter worldview for a while here - the action scenes are played straight, the moments of emotion hit home rather than raising an ironic eyebrow and the result soars.

As always with the Coens, one of the main draws is the dialogue. The characters speak a language we like to think they spoke, semi-Biblical in its eloquence and rich in period colloquialisms. Add to this its slew of top-notch performances, and a recreation of a frontier town so vivid that you can smell the wood and tobacco juice and you have an intensely evocative vision of the Old West which entrances the viewer and sucks them irresistibly into Mattie’s world and her dogged quest for justice. Films such as this, built around plain good storytelling and truly distinctive characters are few and far between in today’s Hollywood, so grab the chance to savour this one while you can.

9.5/10