Although the Coen Brothers are rarely in front of the camera, even the most casual fan of cinema have heard of them, as well as their many popular films like “Barton Fink” and “O Brother Where Art Thou?.” Hollywood stalwarts since the mid-80s, the creative siblings have ditched their usual filmmaking pattern of alternating between heavy-handed comedies and original dramas in order to remake one of John Wayne’s best films.
“True Grit,” released in 1969 and directed by Henry Hathaway, starred Wayne as the gruff ‘Rooster’ Cogburn and is considered by many fans of the Western genre to be one of the best. The film eventually netted Wayne a Golden Globe and an Oscar for his performance.
The Coens saw the hurdles involved with a retelling of an already widely-loved story and matched it with unparalleled experience in both drama and the culture around the Western, as seen previously in their films like “Blood Simple” and “No Country for Old Men.” In this time of cruddy remakes and re-imaginings, like the recent “Americanized” version of the Swedish “Let the Right One In,” they turned something that would normally end up terrible in the hands of another writer or director and made it into something actually worth watching.
One of the high points in this movie is the performance from actress Hailee Steinfeld. Even though she’s just 14 years old, she carries the character of Mattie Ross with such an unwavering determination you’d think she been doing this for years.
Jeff Bridges, who is perhaps most well known for his previous role as “The Dude” from the Coen brothers’ “The Big Lebowski,” fills the shoes left by John Wayne as the US Marshall Cogburn, who was hired by Mattie Ross to hunt down the man that killed her father. Bridges sometimes leans into the tired old cowboy character leftover from his previous Oscar winning performance in the film “Crazy Heart,” but it’s the overall care that makes it an impressive performance.
The lovably arrogant Texas Ranger played by Matt Damon doesn’t have as much screen time as Steinfield and Bridges, but is honest in portraying such a conflicted loner. His character’s goals conflict with the mission behind the plot of the film and his general inability to work with the others leads to many confrontations; events force him to reevaluate his priorities, leading him to save the day by the end.
“True Grit” isn’t better or worse than the original; it’s just a different way of telling the same story. The talent in the writing/directing and a few surprises from the cast make this more than a worthwhile watch.
It’s also more faithful to the 1968 novel by Charles Portis and not just a remake.