The story’s simple - Mattie Ross is a no nonsense fourteen year old seeking vengeance for the cold blooded murder of her father; she finds a suitable lawman who fits her bill, hires him and they head into the wilderness to find the man what done it. Texas Ranger La Beouf an uptight rule bound law nerd played by Matt Damon joins them.
He’s been after the varmint for months on an earlier Texas murder beef. The trio moves through an eerie, mythic western underworld, where bears ride horses and dead bodies are sold and resold.
Cogburn may be a drunk and ne’er do well, but he has sharply hewn instincts about human behaviour and can shoot a piece of cornbread out of the sky. His initial concerns about young Mattie tagging along on the bounty hunt give way to admiration for her strength and intelligence and a desire to protect her from the lures and snares of the Wild West.
The story’s uncomplicated but the payoff is the look and feel. It is art, each frame a masterpiece of great precision and technique and authenticity. The Coens have added their signature, the sound of wind howling over the desert plain, as in No Country for Old Men and A Serious Man. The weather contrives to evoke emotion, as snow and cold, heat and dry threatens life as much as the bad guy’s gun and seems to be in tune with the dramatic action.
Jeff Bridges is a shoo-in for an Oscar nomination but it seems such a nom or win mean little compared to the purity and ferocity of his performance, onscreen for posterity. Everyone will know how great an actor he is. Bridges’ Crazy Heart Oscar was his people’s choice award; a win for True Grit would be his lifetime achievement nod.
Hailee Steinfeld plays Mattie to Bridges’ Cogburn. Steinfeld has the grit to stand up to Bridges inasmuch as a five foot fireball can, but she is unintimidated and gives a performance from the brain and gut.
Barry Pepper and Josh Brolin are in the film for mere moments but we know they’re there. They give knockout performances, colored by the moral code of the cowboy and set firmly within this mythic world.
True Grit is moody, evocative, and playful and it is one of the years’ absolute best films.
Written and directed by Ethan and Joel Coen, based on Charles Portis’ novel
Cast: Jeff Bridges ... Rooster Cogburn
Hailee Steinfeld ... Mattie Ross
Matt Damon ... LaBoeuf
Josh Brolin ... Tom Chaney
Barry Pepper ... Lucky Ned Pepper
Dakin Matthews ... Col. Stonehill
Source: M&C
True Grit 2010