In the movie “True Gritâ€, a young 14 year old girl named Mattie Ross’s (Hailee Steinfeld) father has been shot in cold blood by a man named Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin) and she is determined to track down Chaney and bring him to justice. She hires the help of a drunken U.S. Marshall named Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges), who she tells that she will be accompanying him on the mission. Against his objections to that, she ends up getting her way and going with him to track down Chaney. Also on the trail of Chaney is a Texas Ranger, named La Boeuf (Matt Damon) who wants to bring Chaney back with him to Texas for the murder of another man, and a huge reward. To track down Chaney’s whereabouts they will have to travel through Indian territory and traveling as a group would be their best bet at survival. Can these two law enforcements work together? Plus can they survive traveling with a smart, independent, and very determined little girl such as Mattie?
This movie was a remake of the 1969 movie of the same title which starred John Wayne as “Cogburn†and Glen Campbell as “Le Boeufâ€. The script in this version is basically identical to the original. There were slight changes in the flow of the movie, but it all pretty much stayed to the same premise and formula. The banter between the characters as they rode around trying to track Chaney was hilarious as the feisty little girl gave the two law men quite an earful. The character development was also done very well as you start off thinking that this Marshall, she hires is just a sloppy drunk, but it turns out that he is quite the gun slinger. Even the character played by Matt Damon seemed like he was way over his head in hunting down this fugitive, but he too showed that he had what it took to get the job done. The relationship between the little girl and Cogburn was very funny and touching at the same time as he grew to almost become like a father figure to her. Josh Brolin has a relatively small part, as he isn’t introduced into the movie till towards the end.
The movie mostly focuses on the three companions, and their journey in search of Brolin’s character. This was a very warm and touching western, and I enjoyed every minute of it. It was funny all the way through, and then became suspenseful and action filled, once they came across the man they were searching for and the gang of outlaws he was traveling with. I recommend this movie to anyone who likes westerns, and even those that might not. It’s a well rounded movie that will have you leaving the theater satisfied. I gave the movie 4 horses out of 4. It’s a great remake, and a great pairing of the three main actors, Bridges, Damon, and Steinfeld. The movie runs 1 hour and 50mins, which is actually shorter than the original by 18mins. It was rated PG-13 for some intense sequences of western violence including disturbing images. It was written and directed by Joel & Ethan Coen, from the original source material from the novel “True Grit†by Charles Portis. It was produced by Scott Rudin Productions, Skydance Productions. The film was distributed by Paramount Pictures.
Sometimes you can learn a lot from a little kid. Don’t take them for granted. Ezo
Next movie reviewed: TBD
