Not to be an apologist for the Coen Brothers (okay, maybe just a bit), but it takes a certain kind of sensibility to really appreciate their re-take of True Grit.
Beyond the splitting of hairs as to whether this work is influenced by the 1969 movie that earned John "The Duke" Wayne his only Best Actor Oscar, or on the book that inspired it, this is, first and foremost, a Coen Brothers film. The wonder of True Grit (2010) is that it both adheres to and departs from the now well-established Coen rubric.
The trademarks are there: the stunning cinematography of long-time Coen brothers collaborator Roger Deakins and a haunting score by Carter Burwell. The 'haunting" quality is ironic, in that the film opens and closes with different renditions of the classic hymn "On The Everlasting Arms". Indeed the language and pacing of the movie on a whole is shot through with a kind of ascetic Protestantism - the kind that might have inspired Grant Woods' now iconic painting "American Gothic"
And yet, True Grit comes closer to the mainstream than any Coen Brothers movie. The plot is simple enough. A teenage girl leaves her family at home to hire a marshal to help her avenge the murder of her father. And the operative word is help, as the girl displays at least as much grit - if not more - than her "contractors."
In the lead role here, young Hailee Steinfeld serves notice that she is well capable of headlining a feature of this magnitude, while Jeff Bridges (busy this season) as the stoic Rooster Cogburn and Matt Damon, as Texas Ranger also on the trail of the outlaw are good, but not great. The other standout is Barry Pepper (Saving Private Ryan) as gang leader Lucky Ned Pepper (not so lucky as it turns out, but of course, we're spoiling things).
Although they have markedly different plots and settings, this film comes off in a very similar manner to Fargo, in its organic combination of austerity, quietude and brutality.
The Coens remain as darkly humourous and ironic as they've always been; they've just come up with a neater vehicle for their unique worldview.
Beyond the splitting of hairs as to whether this work is influenced by the 1969 movie that earned John "The Duke" Wayne his only Best Actor Oscar, or on the book that inspired it, this is, first and foremost, a Coen Brothers film. The wonder of True Grit (2010) is that it both adheres to and departs from the now well-established Coen rubric.
The trademarks are there: the stunning cinematography of long-time Coen brothers collaborator Roger Deakins and a haunting score by Carter Burwell. The 'haunting" quality is ironic, in that the film opens and closes with different renditions of the classic hymn "On The Everlasting Arms". Indeed the language and pacing of the movie on a whole is shot through with a kind of ascetic Protestantism - the kind that might have inspired Grant Woods' now iconic painting "American Gothic"
And yet, True Grit comes closer to the mainstream than any Coen Brothers movie. The plot is simple enough. A teenage girl leaves her family at home to hire a marshal to help her avenge the murder of her father. And the operative word is help, as the girl displays at least as much grit - if not more - than her "contractors."
In the lead role here, young Hailee Steinfeld serves notice that she is well capable of headlining a feature of this magnitude, while Jeff Bridges (busy this season) as the stoic Rooster Cogburn and Matt Damon, as Texas Ranger also on the trail of the outlaw are good, but not great. The other standout is Barry Pepper (Saving Private Ryan) as gang leader Lucky Ned Pepper (not so lucky as it turns out, but of course, we're spoiling things).
Although they have markedly different plots and settings, this film comes off in a very similar manner to Fargo, in its organic combination of austerity, quietude and brutality.
The Coens remain as darkly humourous and ironic as they've always been; they've just come up with a neater vehicle for their unique worldview.
I can't wait to see this... The old John Wayne movie had elements of greatness, but this can only be a superior version I feel. I am most fond of Damon AND Bridges (who seems to be having a bit of a revival)... But most of all I love the coldness at the heart of the Coen Brothers movies. If it's anything like Fargo, I know I will love it.
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