True Grit

True Grit (2010)
Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. Starring Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, and Hailee Steinfeld. 

83rd Oscars - 10 nominations: Best Picture, Directing, Actor (Jeff Bridges), Actress in a Supporting Role (Hailee Steinfeld), Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Writing (Adapted Screenplay).

True Grit is about a young girl whose father has been murdered by a man named Tom Chaney. Intent on seeing Chaney (Brolin) brought to justice, 14-year-old Maddie Ross (Steinfeld) hires a US Marshall (Bridges) to pursue him. Meanwhile, they meet a Texas Ranger (Damon) who is also in pursuit of Chaney. In my opinion, the key performance in True Grit is not that of Josh Brolin's menacing baddie, Matt Damon's bumbling ranger, or Jeff Bridges' drunken Marshall... it's the "grit" of Hailee Steinfeld.

One of the first film classes I took in college was Women and Film... (additionally,  I have run the projector for this class for two semesters, so I've heard the lectures multiple times). This class really influenced me and the way I watch movies. I always keep an eye out for assessing the portrayal of women in both old and new films. Let me tell you, Hailee Steinfeld's Maddie Ross is destined to be taught in this class. With her no-nonsense, you-better-take-me-seriously attitude, she's a true force to be reckoned with... and she can hold her own against in the wild wild West.

Something I continue to find interesting about this film is the degree to which the Coen Brothers are insisting it is not a remake of the 1969 John Wayne True Grit, but rather a fresh adaptation of the novel by Charles Portis. This strikes me as fairly amusing as, either way, it's not an original story... and it seems to stand for the abundance of remakes/adaptations (not to mention all the prequels and sequels) that abound in Hollywood nowadays. The near-absence of originality in Hollywood is something I'm interested in researching, actually, but I digress.

In considering about whether a film can NOT be a remake of another film when it IS an adaptation from the same source material, I stumbled across something rather interesting online... an awesome little video where someone cut together a few scenes from the 1969 and the 2010 versions of True Grit. As you'll notice, the dialogue is almost word for word. Are these just the most similar scenes in the two films, or are these clips representative? I don't know, I haven't seen the full 1969 film.

Still, these scenes are very similar. Does this disprove the Coen Bros' assertion that their film is different? I don't think so. After all, look at the difference in the performances... I find the 2010 version far more compelling. Notice how the same line can be played for more humor or intensity, how Maddie Ross stands out much more, how each shot in the Coen Bros film has a greater artistic sensibility.

This leads me to another train of thought...  Does this show a general trend? Does it mean that the quality of filmmaking nowadays is far greater than that of the 60s? My answer would be, yes and no. Filmmaking technology probably has something to do with the beautiful shots in the Coen Brothers version. Acting styles have certainly improved... But my "no" comes from the fact that the 1969 True Grit was made in a time when Westerns were churned out left and right... Nowadays, they're rarities (really the only other recent one I can think of is 2007's 3:10 to Yuma -- which incidentally, was also a remake, of a 1957 film). Thus, I think there is greater artistry in newer Western films because Hollywood isn't saturated with them.

I would recommend this film as an all-around good time. It's interesting historically and is a fun adventure story. It will be interesting to see how it fairs at the Oscars.

For more on this film, I encourage you to check out this interview with the Coen Brothers.