True Grit

“True Grit”, a remake by the Coen Brothers of the original film based on the novel by Charles Portis, stars Jeff Bridges as the incorrigible Rooster Cogburn (the role originally created by John Wayne,), Matt Damon and the remarkable Hailee Steinfeld who litereally steals each and every scene from her crafty and seasoned male co-stars. A harder and tighter character than the soft young girl originally played by Kim Darby, this film is a true western much in the genre of Clint Eastwood‘s “The Unforgiven” reciting the saga of a no-holds barred effort by a young 14 year old girl to avenge the death of her father. The photography is a thing to behold as we experience the old west more as it was than the B westerns would have us believe. Jeff Bridges plays old Rooster straight as an arrow in a non-satirical and non-clownish manner. The humor he creates is a natural one because he simply says and does funny things but, when the chips are down, he is all “true grit”. I give this film 3 stars with a strong suggestion that it be seen, not simply as a western, but as a really good movie.