True Grit, Coen Brothers (2010 USA Western)

on IMDB

Characters: 4
Screenplay: 4
Cinematography: 2
Emotional: 2

Overall: 3.5


It was very refreshing to see such a strong young female role. She brought back memories of Natalie Portman in Leon: The Professional, except with a more prominent role. Steinfeld does a stunning job on screen. At only 14 years, she fills the boisterous snarky shoes extraordinarily. And her character is rounded out quite well with the more natural undertones of her character as the stories goes on. Cogburn is a great as the drunken headstrong fool. Sprinkled with silly antics and one liners, his character is less fleshed out, but provides a great deal of entertainment when interacting with Mattie and Laboeuf. LaBoeuf rounds out the trio well, with the logical and structured side, albeit a bit odd. The interplay between the characters is priceless.

The film starts of strong. The introduction scenes are entertaining and memorable. The short caricature introductions each match the flavor of their characters exceptionally. The pacing is well done, with nice downtime scenes between. The film does a good job of rewarding careful viewers: little tidbits of foreshadowing that are followed through. Interspersed throughout the film are bits of comic relief between the trio, and it is well timed and fresh. Thankfully the film rewards logic over brash courage in the end.

My only concern is the ending. It’s a bit anticlimactic, which initially is a letdown. But there is a bit of appreciation for an unorthodox ending for an unorthodox story. It leaves you high and dry, which one may not always appreciate

Following the clichés of westerns, True Grit begins looking like standard fare. With a slow fade in scene, silhouettes, and warm tones, we’re pleasantly surprised when the film strays from the beaten path character wise. Some scenes are very well shot, such as the ending frame. The only problems I had with the cinematography were the stereotypical traveling fades: a bit too much. Yeah, I presume they were trying to mock westerns, but the cuts were too fast and short.

While the film attempts to build up the sympathy for Mattie, the emotional investment of the story is diluted by the unorthodox humor. It wouldn’t suit this film to become too invested in the film, it’s more akin to something you just sit back and watch. At the climax points of the film, I just didn’t find myself caring all that much.

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After the climax, the epilogue’s continuation of the story shows how unremarkable everyone’s life is after such crazy events. It does a good job toying with our expectations. Mattie was totally supposed to go off and live a crazy life. She had some cojones, but nope, nothing. We never even get to see the others. It’s very well played. No lose ends were tied and it was refreshing.

But it was still highly entertaining and the ending was unique in a good way, once the initial dissatisfaction fades away. A radical western that will keep you entertained.