True Grit

My mom bought the new version of True Grit for me recently, and seeing as my dad and I had planned to go see it when it came out (but were waylaid by snow), I thought I'd watch it for the first time with him.

As I understand it, this version is more true to the book than the John Wayne version, which doesn't mean much to me, having never read the book, but it does to some people. When the film was released, I heard a review on the radio that described the Coen Brothers version as 'sweet revenge' for the book, which is a thoroughly pretentious statement to make. yes, how awful John Wayne made a fine movie that didn't strictly adhere to the book. I'm sure it did nothing to raise the profile of said book (and what are the odds the Coen's would have done this movie if there hadn't been an earlier version to raise awareness of the book?)

Sorry, I've been irritated by the stupidity of that review since Christmas.

As to the film, I think I still prefer the John Wayne version, but I like a little comedy in my movies sometimes, and this version's kind of short on that. Hailee Steinfeld did an excellent job as Mattie Ross. Jeff Bridges is more understated as Rooster than John Wayne, which helps the focus stay on Mattie, as it was in the book. I did have some trouble understanding what the hell Bridges was saying, though Dad claimed to have no such difficulty. He's had more experience deciphering the speech of fat old men with chaw in their mouths. Still, I miss John Wayne's outsized (or overacted) performance. That supremely offended look he got in response to 'That's pretty bold talk coming from a one-eyed fat man!' is classic.

One thing my dad noticed was there didn't seem to be the chemistry between Bridges, Steinfeld, and Matt Damon that there was between Wayne, Kim Darby, and Glen Campbell. He concluded that was purposeful, as things are less cheerful in the 2010 version. He got up and left the room during the sequence where Rooster rides Little Blackie to death to save Mattie. He doesn't understand why they didn't take one of the now deceased Pepper gangs' horses instead. Which is a valid point. They ride right past one. I thought stabbing it in the flanks was a bridge too far myself.

Josh Brolin looks too crafty to be Tom Chaney. Maybe Chaney's supposed to be that way, but I'd always figured he was just a dope who couldn't hold his liquor, or his temper.