Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by Harmonia (A) on December 28, 2010 at 16:54:39

In Reply to: RE: "True Grit:" nothing special. For the first time in memory, Bridges gives a posted by tinear on December 27, 2010 at 08:55:10

I'm too full of cold meds to type anything extensive but one of the chief pleasures of the new True Grit for me is how the Coen's version captures the spirit and language of the Charles Portis' novel - far more than the Wayne version. It gets something of the book's poetry into a cinematic equivalent and, for once, the Coens are mostly, uncharisteristically un-ironic. Portis and the Coens, in fact, seem to share a similar sensibility (Cormac McCarthy without the pretension but with a big helping of deadpan, scathing humor).

I also think the casting and performances are superior in every way to the earlier movie - Wayne's performance was a fabulous, iconic one, but it was basically a take on the quintessential "Duke"ness of John Wayne, not the Rooster Cogburn of the book. Bridges is pitch perfect IMO. The interplay among him, Damon and Steinfeld is what makes the film. I never thought of Billy Bob Thornton, or even of Bridges - I just saw Portis' Rooster on the screen.

I have mixed feelings about Unforgiven, BTW, but I don't find much in common between the two films other than genre, so I will not go there. I don't want this to become a Grit vs Unforgiven debate. Unforgiven is more your cuppa - fine.

I strongly disagree that a western needs a prominent villain, and I felt the "gunfight" (I presume by this you mean Cogburn's last charge) was staged rather well - the difference in emphasis is more in line with the novel. The gunfight isn't the main point, the villain isn't the main point; Mattie's quest is the point...and it is Mattie, of course, who ultimately shows the most grit.

Your complaints about TG2010 imply to me you went into this film expecting a totally different kind of movie, one that conformed to certain genre conventions, and that you rather missed the subtlety.
I do think this new True Grit will gain in stature as time goes on. I've usually found that I need to see a Coen movie more than once to get it all.

I will agree that Hailee Steinfeld is a find, and a superb Mattie Ross.

I haven't seen the book around since I unpacked after my recent move so I will be hunting through my boxes to find True Grit and reread ASAP. By the bye, I read the book before I saw the 1969 movie. I heartily recommend it, as well as Portis' other books (Dog of the South, Gringos etc, which are not westerns though set in the SW). Another good read made into an excellent though a-typical western is co-regionist Daniel Woodrell's Woe To Live On, which became Ang Lee's Ride With The Devil. (Woodrell is the author of the book Winter's Bone which was made into the fine recent film by Deborah Granik.)

Edits: 12/29/10