‘True Grit’ is Good if You Want it To Be

The following conversation between my father and I ensued before I attended a screening for True Grit:

“I am about to walk into a screening of True Grit”

“What’s that?”

“It’s a remake of that movie with John Wayne.”

“Really?! That’s an old one.”

“Yeah, but this is a remake — and it’s based on a book.”

“But it’s old!”

“Yeah, but it’s a remake written and directed by the Coen Brothers – they made No Country for Old Men, Fargo, The Big Lebowski – “

“Wow. That is an old movie!”

“I’ll talk to you later dad.”

Over the years, I have tried to watch Western movies and become one of those people who genuinely enjoy watching them. Unfortunately, it hasn’t worked out. I just don’t enjoy watching them. I thought that this would change with the True Grit redux, but, alas, it hasn’t.

The 1969 original (based on the Charles Portis novel of the same name) starred John Wayne, Glen Campbell, and Kim Darby. It was about a too-smart-and-stubborn-for-her-own-good tomboyish teen girl, Mattie (Darby) is on the hunt for her father’s murderer. She solicits the help of a drunken eye-patched U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn (Wayne) and a Texas Ranger by the name of LeBoeuf (Campbell). The three have a wild adventure whilst stomping through Native American territory, searching for the aforementioned killer. I haven’t watched it so that’s probably a good thing – mainly because I wouldn’t want to have a cinematic bias fogging my thoughts (please see my thoughts on The Karate Kid remake).

Based on my extensive reading, it seems that Ethan and Joel Coen mirrored the source material except they focused more on the book. In their version, Rooster is now played by Jeff Bridges, Mattie by Hailee Steinfeld and LeBoeuf by Matt Damon. The story has seemed to age well – like a fine wine. Unfortunately, I don’t drink, so trying to pour this movie down my gullet was less than satisfying.

Even though I fell asleep for various portions of the movie (a combination of boredom and end-of-workday fatigue), my eyelids were eventually held up by the very captivating performance by Steinfeld. The 14-year-old’s aggressive turn as a no-nonsense girl on a mission of vengeance warrants her recent SAG nomination and puts her in the same young actress pile that Ellen Page was thrown in when she was lauded for her performance in Juno — perhaps Mattie and Juno reside on the same family tree.

Bridges and Damon fill in the gaps with equally great performances and are enjoyable to watch in a more “three friends on a fun road trip” perspective. It’s unfortunate that my predisposed aversion to Westerns ruined the fun for me – but don’t worry – all parties involved in this movie will get praised for their work. I don’t worship the movie because I have yet to earn my “You should like this movie because I said so and because it’s going to be nominated for a bunch of awards” badge.

True Grit opens in theaters nationwide on Dec. 22