One of the best movies in theaters at the moment is TRUE GRIT by Joel and Ethan
Coen.  The film is based on the 1968 bestseller and 1969 movie about the
one-eyed marshall Rooster Cogburn who, along with the young Mattie Ross,
goes in search of the man who killed Mattie's father.

Unlike the 1969 film, there is an opening and closing narration by Mattie.  The
voice-over plus the character of the plucky, now 14-yr. old Mattie (and what we
later come to know of her as an adult) make the Coens' ending especially poignant.  This film with its collection of misfits and old codgers left over from the days of the Civil War comes across as the Coens'
farewell to the Old West.  One realizes that the timespan in this film just about coincides with the beginning and end of the Old West that we are familiar with today.

The Coens use the old-fashioned language of Charles Portis' book and succeed in
capturing the humor of the antiquated dialogue. Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfeld,
and Matt Damon make the roles of Rooster Cogburn, Mattie Ross, and LaBoeuf their
own. This is no small achievement considering the original with Oscar winner John
Wayne, Kim Darby, and [the miscast] Glen Campbell.  The cinematography by
Roger Deakins cannot be surpassed. Outstanding are night
and winter scenes and a beautifully lit action sequence inside a cave.  One can
feel just how dirty and uncomfortable a place the Old West was.  Also worth
noting is the face of Josh Brolin's villain that expresses the quintessence of
evil.  There's a blankness in his stare that reveals a complete lack of
humanity.

I came away from this movie thinking I'd seen one of the best westerns ever.
Maybe my enthusiasm will fade, but this is one I'm inclined to put
up there with the greats. (01/12/11)

by Elizabeth Manny