True Grit is a film with a strong pedigree behind it. Directed by the Coen brothers, the film boasts a stellar cast including the ever watchable and consistently brilliant Jeff Bridges, Academy award nominee Matt Damon, and newcomer Hailee Steinfeld. The Coen brothers themselves claim that this is not a direct remake of the 1969 film starring John Wayne, focusing more on retelling the story of the original novel by Charles Portis.
The critics have universally praised the scope and vision of True Grit, hailing it a modern masterpiece, and it has already broken the $100 million mark at the US box office, making it the Coen brothers most successful film to date. With this in mind, it was a surprisingly disappointing experience, but by no means a bad film and not without its highlights.
The cast itself sparkles. Jeff Bridges nails the character of Rooster Cogburn, portraying the hard edged, ageing, drunken lawman with humour and warmth throughout. Matt Damon plays LeBouef with similar wit and charm, exploiting the comic potential in his role and the supporting cast brings the usual mix of dark humour, oddball characters and occasional bloody violence to the screen with the panache typical of a Coen brothers film. The standout performance, however, is that of Hailee Steinfeld, who at only age 13 makes the screen her own, driving the action forward and delivering a performance equal in stature to those of the grizzled Hollywood veterans in whose midst she thrives.
Lacking direction
Sadly, and somewhat surprisingly, the directing does not do justice to the performances of the cast. Despite stunning cinematography and locations, it is very difficult to be drawn into the story; arch villain Tom Chaney, played by Josh Brolin, is not given enough early screen time to feel truly menacing, which makes it difficult to feel involved with the story of Matty Ross’ (Steinfeld) efforts to avenge her father’s death at Chaney’s hands.
In a similar vein, Matty and Rooster never seem to be in any real jeopardy over the course of the film. The few moments of confrontation in the slow burning opening act of the film are brief and Rooster Cogburn always has the upper hand. It is not until the final scenes, when Matty finally confronts, and is taken by, Chaney that any dramatic tension is apparent. Sadly, just as the film begins to explode into action, it is suddenly over, with all loose ends tied up. It’s almost as if there are two films sandwiched together, the first a thoughtful, slow paced character piece, exploring the relationship between a disparate band of strangers, thrown together by circumstance; the other a slick, modern, pacey western. Unfortunately, there isn’t enough of the latter to capture the imagination, and the former was just getting going when the film came to its premature conclusion.
Oscar nominations
Despite its shortcomings, True Grit is a good film and one not to be missed, but with the team behind it, it could and should have been so much more. With the weight of critical acclaim behind it and several Oscar nominations already, it seems certain that the main players will win awards; however, it is easy to find more deserving films released in the last 12 months.
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