Remakes may be popular with filmmakers but they are often looked at with disdain from film fans. When you take a classic property like True Grit, for which acting legend John Wayne won an Oscar, more eyebrows are raised than normal. Still, when you are the Coen Brothers and you are planning less of a remake of the original film and more an adaptation that hews more closely to the Charles Portis novel and which stars Jeff Bridges, those eyebrows should really relax. True Grit is a great film that stands up to multiple views and continues to give. It might be hard for big fans of the classic film to let go but it is well worth it as it is  a much, much different film.

The story follows 14 year old Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) who comes to Ft Smith Arkansas to put her family’s affairs in order after her father is shot by his hired hand Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin). A major part of settling things for Mattie is seeing that her father’s murderer does not get away with it and is properly punished. Because Chaney escaped into Indian country, only federal authority can pursue him. With the list of criminals to hunt too long to expect the Marshals to get to Chaney on their own, Mattie is forced to hire one to find him. She chooses Reuben ‘Rooster’ Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) because she is told he is the meanest and she believes him to have true grit.  What she finds is a old drunk who doesn’t take her seriously but who really wants the reward money. Mattie is also approached by Texas Ranger LeBoeuf (Matt Damon) who is on Chaney’s trail for crimes committed in Texas. Mattie doesn’t take LeBoeuf seriously but he had Cogburn team up to go after Chaney so they can split some Texas reward money. Neither are pleased when Mattie insists upon coming along but they are stuck with her as the three pursue their target.

I need to mention right away that the Coen Brothers are amongst my favorite directors and I admire just about everything they do. So I am very inclined to be taken with their work here. My love of Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and Josh Brolin also help my opinion of the film. If they had all done a terrible job, I would have been much more disappointed than had other people done it but as it turns out I loved the film. Despite being outside of their typical genre (not that they really have a favorite one), their take on True Grit bears many marks of being a Coen Brothers film most notably the writing/dialogue and the incredible cinematography.

In the case of True Grit, the dialogue is pulled pretty faithfully from the source material. I haven’t read the book (yet) but many sequences share pretty much word for word dialogue with the original film. The cadence, however, as well as a lack of contractions, help to separate the two films in terms of how the speech sounds. The direction and performances serve to elevate this delivery into something that not only sounds more natural and off the cuff but also more poetic and fun to listen to. If there was an analog to how the dialogue sounds in this film it would be the delivery and cadence of Deadwood where the speech sounds almost Shakespearean. This is not really a dig at the original film, but the speech sound sounds much more crisp and is much more of a joy to hear. I mentioned the lack of contractions above and it seems like a minor, simple thing but it is kind of amazing how much more formal and poetic changing ‘I don’t think I’ll do that’ to ‘I do not think I will do that’ actually sounds.  This has a profound effect on how the dialogue sounds and I for one really enjoyed it.

The cinematography in True Grit is not quite up to the standard the Coen’s set with No Country for Old Men, but it is still noteworthy and looks gorgeous. From long panoramic shots to more closely framed and contrastingly lit shots the cinematography never disappoints and is never boring. It helps that the locations are inherently beautiful but they way those locations are filmed really takes it to the next level.

The performances are incredible and everyone involved turns in top notch work. Jeff Bridges offers a much gruffer and rougher around the edges Cogburn than the Duke gave us. This is no statement on the quality of Wayne’s work but for this film, Bridges’s performance is perfect. He can be a bit difficult to understand at times unless you are paying very close attention but that sort of goes with the territory when the character drinks that much whiskey. Bridges doesn’t try to emulate John Wayne’s performance but rather creates his own character more in keeping with the tone of this film, and which is apparently more in keeping with the tone of the book. Likewise, Damon’s LeBoeuf is spot on for the material and gets ample opportunity to make him feel like a real man who may not be the best at what he does but does not let that stop him from doing what he feels he needs to. He is also pretty funny and the banter and antagonism between LeBoeuf and Cogburn is a joy to watch. Josh Brolin’s Chaney is almost off-puttingly ordinary insofar as he is not a mastermind by any means and does his share of bumbling. He plays his character as someone who is dangerous in his own indifference and selfishness and that feels very authentic.

As good as everyone else is, special mention must be made of Hailee Steinsfeld as Mattie. It would be very easy to play Mattie as a whiny and petulant brat but instead Steinfeld offers up a Mattie who is resolved to take care of her family’s business because she is the only one left in her family who can do it. She is a tomboy who is smart, driven and prematurely hard but there are flashes throughout the course of the film where you can see the little girl inside. Some of the best of these are flashes of affection she has for her horse Little Blackie. She is very much a little girl in these sections and one is forced to wonder what sort of person she would have turned out to be if Chaney hadn’t gunned down her father.

The True Grit the Coens give us in this film is very different than the classic film in not only tone but also the look and feel. It makes it difficult to really compare them or to say which is better. They are both great for what they are but in this case they are something different. The 2010 film is much darker, much grittier and is much more realistic. The characters seem more human and the relationships feel much deeper.

You also get a greater sense as the viewer that while this is an adventure to Mattie it is really kind of mundane in a way. Chaney is notable only because he killed Mattie’s father. He isn’t some kind of badass or mustache twirling villain but rather just a guy with no conscience and a penchant for violence when he drinks too much. At first this seems like it is kind of boring or a let down but the more I think about it the more I think it elevates the story in that sometimes the most important things that happen to us in our lives are perpetrated by unimportant people and those things we consider significant mean nothing at all to others. Mattie’s father didn’t die because he went down in a blaze of glory but rather because he was trying to stop Chaney from making a bad decision. We want events like this to mean something but often times they don’t, they are just things that happen. Maybe it is a little bleak but I like that aspect of the story. It feels much more real.

The violence in the movie is few and far between but when it happens carries an intensity that is shocking even given the film’s tone. At PG-13 it is obviously not over the top but it is just so matter of fact that it feels a bit more hardcore. I think this is impressive in a film with this rating.

Conclusion [10 out of 10]

True Grit is great for a lot of reasons. It isn’t exciting in the way that Tombstone has a lot of action and it isn’t as contemplative as Unforgiven but it doesn’t need to be either of those things. It delivers a compelling story with characters you grow to care for and who are fun to listen to while looking fantastic. The performances are across the board terrific and are a joy to watch. I hope that people don’t avoid this film because they think it is sacrilege to remake a classic but this is the best possible argument for why there is merit in them. True Grit is a great film and is destined to become a classic itself.