Directors: Joel and Ethan Coen
Duration: 110mins
Rating: *****
“The wicked flee when none pursueth” Proverbs 28:1
‘True Grit is’ a remake of the 1969 film directed by Henry Hathaway, which stars one of the greatest actors of all time, John Wayne. So, a huge act to live up to, then, but this film is brilliant – it has taken a large dollop of the Coen Brothers, added some well-known Hollywood stars and topped it off with a sprinkling of new talent; all in all, a recipe for success.
The plot follows 14-year-old Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld), whose father has been murdered by employee Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin). Whilst arranging his affairs, Mattie swears to avenge her father’s death and hires Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) to take her after the criminal. However, Chaney is also a wanted man in Texas, and so Ranger LeBoeuf (Matt Damon), who has been pursuing the serial killer for months, proposes to team up with the pair to increase their chances of bringing him to justice.
Now, I’m not the world’s greatest fan of this genre of film, and Westerns tend to remind me of long, rainy Sunday afternoons with my Grandad. But I couldn’t ignore the hype this film had been creating and I was really surprised that the Tyneside Cinema was full, despite the film having been released over a week earlier.
‘True Grit’ has been nominated for 10 Oscars in total, but I think that Steinfeld‘s nomination is the most deserved; she played an amazing part and she’s a talent to look out for in the future. However, I disagree that she is a supporting actress; I think she should be up for the Best Actress Gong.
My one criticism of the film is that I didn’t really understand the majority of what Bridges was saying; his accent was really thick and difficult to comprehend.
This is honestly one of the best films I’ve seen in a long time. But don’t take my word for it, make sure you go out and see it.
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