Review: True Grit

Over my Christmas break, I decided there were a number of movies I wanted to see.  It started out with about three and then grew into seven movies.  So far I have seen four of those movies and I'm catching up on reviews as we speak.  The movies are as followed: Black Swan; True Grit; Tron: Legacy; I Love You, Phillip Morris; The Fighter; The King's Speech; and 127 Hours.  Here is my review for True Grit.

I undoubtedly misconceived True Grit at first: I thought it may have been something along the lines of Jonah Hex except... well, good.  The only part I may have gotten right was the western aspect of the movie (that and the fact that Josh Brolin is in both).  True Grit tells the story of  Mattie Ross (Elizabeth Marvel), a young fourteen year old girl who is looking for Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin) who murdered her father over a petty argument.  In her searching for Chaney, she decides to hire a U.S. Marshal to search for him, Chaney having left the town and no longer in the jurisdiction of local authorities.  The man she chooses to hire is Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges), a man she later describes as having "true grit."  Cogburn initially turns her away and as Mattie waits for him to change her mind, Texas Ranger La Boeuf (Matt Damon) finds her and offers his assistance in capturing Chaney.

True Grit is the second adaption of Charles Portis' original novel of the same title, written in 1968, the first being the 1969 rendition starring John Wayne.  The movie is directed and produced by the Coen brothers and is also produced by Steven Spielberg.  While Joel Coen also directed The Big Lebowski (1998), Jeff Bridges character shows no signs of "The Dude."  In fact, the characters in True Grit are what make the movie so great.  Jeff Bridges' character, Rooster Cogburn, is gross, smelly, and, as he often describes himself, "fat and old."  However, the dry, often deadpan humor of Rooster lightens the barren wasteland that is the west.  In fact, what surprised me most about this movie was how much humor it actually contains: Bridges is hilarious throughout; the interactions of Damon and Bridges consist of them berating one other either for being either old and fat or for not being able to shut up; Mattie Ross even has her moments when she stuns the male leads with her quick witted tongue. 

While all of the lead actors do a stupendous job, what makes the movie feel so believable is the tertiary characters.  Lucky Ned Pepper (Barry Pepper), a gang leader traveling with Chaney, although only on screen for a short amount of time, is instantly recognized as a ruthless, cold blooded, yet intelligent killer.  Brolin, unfortunately, wasn't on screen for as long as I would have liked, but manages to convincingly transform himself into a slow, dumb man who only looks out for himself.  By far my favorite character in the movie, however, is one that Rooster and Mattie meet in passing known only as The Doctor (Ed Corbin), who wears a full bear skin coat, sells teeth, and tries to heal anyone who will allow him to come near.

The movie overall is a breath of fresh air.  It seems as though within this past year there has been a bit of a cowboy craze (what with Jonah Hex, Red Dead Redemption, and now True Grit) and True Grit, without doubt, makes for a meaningful and spirited revival of an old book.  The story is engaging, the cast is fantastic, and the overall mood is what it needs to be, which is convincing and authentic.  Bridges does an excellent job of being both disgusting and endearing and Marvel, while not the strongest performance overall, does an excellent job seeing as how this is her first full length feature film to date.  True Grit is more fun and comedic than I expected, yet still maintains the bad ass-ness I had originally anticipated;  All I have to say is that Jeff Bridges shoots people, a lot of people... and some cornbread too.