True Grit

[elski]

The original 1969 True Grit is playing on Film4 Saturday at 4.35pm, complete with classic line "Fill your hands, you son of a bitch!"

[prettyxcool]

Did anyone go to the True Grit Bingo event? I was just wondering how it went?

I wanted to go. I entered the comps, but did not win

[catswoody]

Saw this in Cambridge last night to a full house.

Absolutely loved it. I am not a great fan of 'Westerns' but this one blew me away.

Go see it!

[M R M R]

9/10
I had to deduct half a point because it was difficult to understand Jeff Bridges at times

Hailee Steinfield was a revelation, so self assured.

Wonderful scenery, great acting and a bit of humour thrown in amongst the action.

I nearly didn't go to the screening because my Dad didn't want to go but I'm glad I went otherwise I'd've missed a fantastic film.

[redgigha]

I loved this film. It's a good few years since I last saw the John Wayne version so had forgotten some of the story which meant I went into it almost as a new film. I don't think it would matter either way though as this is great in its own right. if anythign I think it's better than the original - probably as it's not so polished and very funny.

I'd recommend everyone to see it. Can't really say much more than that!

[shaw.jonathan]

I was disappointed - hoping for more no country for old men in terms of style

[Aquaman84]

True Grit is a classic western. Over the last few years there have a been a spate of brilliant films that can be desribed as westerns, including the Coens' No Country For Old Men, Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood, Andrew Dominik's The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford, Tommy Lee Jones' The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada and John Hillcoat's The Proposition. None of these though could be described as, what my dad would call, "a proper western".

Gone are the gritty, dirty, blood-soaked vistas that one might expect from a modern western, or the philosophical introversion most notable in Jesse James... These are replaced with wonderul, old-fashioned photography from Roger Deakins using the snowy winter to beautiful effect. Even the more horrific moments are shied away from and the film seems all the better for it, especially when you consider that the story is being told from the point of view of a young girl.

And this is most certainly Mattie Ross' story. Hailee Steinfeld is a revelation as the precocious Ross, and her early scene in which she negotiates with a horse trader set her up perfectly for the rest of the film. She is determined (see an early river crossing for evidence of that) and corageous (see a later incident at a river for that) and played to perfection. She is, as you might expect, ably matched by Jeff Bridges as Rooster Cogburn (the role for which John Wayne won an Oscar) a gruff and irascible U.S. Marshall who spends more time at the bottom of a bottle than is advisable and is shown in court to be more likely to bring people in dead than alive. The rest of the cast are also on fine form: Matt Damon is perfect as the jingling-jangling spurred Texas Ranger La Beouf (pronounced La Beef); Josh brolin is perfect as the seemingly slow but certainly menacing Tom Chaney and Barry Pepper has a fabulous spitting cameo as Lucky Ned Pepper - you could happily sit and watch more of him.

The film is, by all accounts, very faithful to the book but it is also filled the usual Coen oddities. The trainee dentist dressed in a full bearskin is a wonderfully surreal moment, as well as bizarre henchman of Lucky Ned's that communicates only through animal sounds. Bridges' Cogburn is hardly intelligible throughout and even though La Beef is, he does not remain so. The comedy throughout is very easy to relate to, but not too broad as has been a criticism of some recent films of thiers and they have made a choice to highlight the inherent racism of the wild west but without making it a plot point.

The only thing is that True Grit is not a great film; the performances (other than Steinfeld) are hugely enjoyable but not great, the plot is simple, the cinematography beautiful and the themes and messages heartwarming, but in none of these does the film quite achieve the level that the Coen's have achieved with some previous efforts. It is very good and highly enjoyable and if you are a fan of classic westerns, this is one if most certainly for you.

My Score: 8/10

[Celini]

It seemed to me that lots of native speaker were complaining about the thick accent, so I did it... I finally found a screening with subtitles! I will see this tomorrow at Odeon Holloway!

Am excited!

[Celini]

I am back and very happy with the subtitled screening! That said Odeon Holloway Screen 6 literally stinks; it was like being locked in a chemical storage for 2 hours... pretty bad experience!

Anyway, this is no doubt my favourite movie so far (2011) and the only one I pa*d for!

9.5/10

[TheDude]

Your ears do kind of tune in to the accent after a while, but still a good idea going for the subtitles. Watched this again and enjoyed it more on second viewing, although I still prefer the way they ended the original film, without the 25yrs later sequence...