True Grit

The film True Grit, a western that was written and directed by the Coen brothers, is a remake of the 1969 adaptation of the 1968 novel of the same name. The Coen brother's version was released in 2010 and was nominated for ten Academy Awards.

Fourteen year old, Maddie Ross, hires Rooster Cogburn, the "toughest" marshal working on the Indian Territory, to help her to avenge her father's death by finding his killer, Tom Chaney. Meanwhile, Texas Ranger LeBeouf is also searching for the same man because there is a bounty on him for killing a Texas state senator. The two men want to team up together and help each other but Maddie is unhappy with this due to the fact that she wants Chaney to be killed in Arkansas for the murder of her father, not in Texas for the death of the senator. Despite her discontent and the fact that the two men tried to leave he behind, the three of them set off on their quest. After a couple fall outs between the two men and a few gun fights, Ross finally comes face to face with Chaney.

The film defiantly has traditional western genre characteristics, like the characters' desire for justice and the setting of the wilderness of the American west. I found the plot line to be very ordinary and nothing special, the rising action was slightly dull with small spurs of excitement and humour and (spoiler alert, highlight to read) the killing of Tom Chaney did not come with the victorious feeling I was expecting to experience. That in mind, I personally do not find westerns to be my favourite genre of movie because the brutal killings and the story line (usually) does not excite me. What made up for a bit of my boredom though, was the ending. Endings are really important to me because when I'm happy with the ending, I find that the movie was much more worth while. Some may argue that the ending was uninteresting, but I thought that it was extremely appropriate and realistic and wrapped up the story in a satisfying way.

I would also like to recognize Hailee Steinfeld for her Academy Award nominated performance in this film. I completely understand why she was nominated because her portrayal of Maddie Ross was phenomenal and some of the best child acting I've seen. Her role defiantly improved this film, along with that of her more experienced co-stars Matt Damon and Jeff Bridges.

I definitely recommend this film to people who enjoy westerns! Others, who may not be so fond of this genre can still find impressive aspects in this film, but like me, will most likely find themselves completely uninterested in some parts.