True Grit

I was in my home town, Jonesboro, Arkansas, when I watched the Cohen Brothers version of True Grit. Toward the end of the film I heard that Rooster Cogburn was buried in a Confederate grave yard in Jonesboro, Arkansas. I now speak with some authority.

The 1969 version of True Grit was a good movie, for its time. John Wayne was well overdue for an Oscar, and it is the way of that institution to award not so magnificent performances to make up for past neglect. Conversely, the 69 TG looked pretty good until I saw the 2010 version.

The Cohen Brothers have genius. They did Barton Fink, a movie so utterly terrible that only genius could have produced it. They did Raising Arizona, which might stand as the perfect example of an intelligent comedy. Almost all of their movies have been superb.

This year's True Grit is both truer and grittier than its predecessor. Haillee Steinfeld is brilliant as Mattie Ross. There is a scene in which she sells back the horses her father had purchased in order to fund her crusade against her father's murderer. The language of the exchange, in which she outfoxes a seasoned trader, is worth the admission price to the movie. In a subsequent scene she buys back again a single horse, and the trader says, with exasperation, "are we trading again?" He has recognized that he is no match for her.

Jeff Bridges' Rooster is finely crafted, as fans would expect. The character combines the flaws of an alcoholic wastrel with heroic virtue, and Bridges is up to that challenge. The weakest performance in TG69 was Glen Campbell as LaBoeuf. Matt Damon repairs that defect. LaBoeuf is ridiculously pretentious, but he is steadfast and a good shot with his rifle which is all that really matters. Barry Pepper plays the outlaw Ned Pepper, chiefly because he looks a lot like Robert Duvall. That might be the single bit of homage to the 1969 film.

The Cohen Brothers Grit is superb. The star of the show is the dialogue, Biblical or Shakespearean, take your pick. All Westerns about the same thing: personal virtue and the demands of civilization struggling against a background of lawless violence. The genre of the Western is rare, but it is not played out. Don't miss this one.

Comments

[William]

If I can make it to the paved roads this weekend, I'd love to see it - lol

[KB]

We don't need no stinkin' paved roads! Good luck William.

[William]

Someday, I WILL see this movie!

[Lynn]

Saw it and enjoyed all but the ending. Steinfeld was great!

[Jimi]

The Cohen Brothers make great movies!

[Donald Pay]

It is the "Coen" brothers, and they make great films.

[KB]

Thanks, Donald. Maybe that was the Irish in me wanting to say "CO-Han".

[William]

Is it just me, or is Donald getting a bit "prickly" lately?

[JT]

I am from Jonesboro too. I just saw the movie tonight. Nice to hear all the Arkansas references. When Cole Younger mentions where the marshal is buried the whole audience kinda gasped lol. Great movie, right up there with No Country.

[KB]

Thanks for the comment, JT. My relatives were all talking about that Jonesboro reference in my Aunt's living room.

[Mike Quinlivan]

Am I a weirdo for enjoying Barton Fink? It was an oddly surreal movie, and I am not really sure of its point, but I still enjoyed it. :) I have enjoyed almost all the Coen Bros. movies I have seen, even The Ladykillers. The one that has always freaked me out, as much as No Country, was Blood Simple. E. Emmett Walsh as the bad guy; can't beat it!

[KB]

Mike: yes, you are a weirdo for enjoying Barton Fink. I didn't, but I do enjoy Asian Horror movies and edgy avant garde jazz. Maybe we can form a club or something. Thanks for posting!