True Grit' is worth a retelling
Maybe it's the voiceover narration that creates this impression, but there's something about the new version of “True Grit” that resembles a favorite book read out loud. You've heard the story before, it's not really new, but the delights of hearing a good old yarn are significant.
Where you've heard the story before is most likely the 1969 film version of “True Grit.” That box-office hit won a richly deserved Oscar for John Wayne, who was then moving into the final phase of his career. Both films are based on a novel by Charles Portis.
This new one was adapted by Joel and Ethan Coen, who recently trekked west in “No Country for Old Men.” Their take on “True Grit” is a lighter movie than that, but it offers the pleasures of the western genre in abundance.
That narrator is Mattie Ross, remembering the story from middle age. As a 14-year-old, Mattie (played by Hailee Steinfeld) arrives in an unfamiliar town to send home the body of her father, killed by the scoundrel Tom Chaney.
Being a spunky girl with no small sense of justice, she hires a U.S. marshal, Rooster Cogburn, to find Chaney and arrest him. Cogburn, the old John Wayne role, is played by Jeff Bridges, decked out in eye-patch, paunch and happy drinking habit.
Marshal and girl are accompanied in their manhunt by a Texas Ranger, LaBouef (Matt Damon), who's been tracking Chaney himself. Much of what happens is arranged in a few big sequences: a spellbinding set of action around a cabin at night and the trio's eventual rendezvous with a gang led by a scurvy varmint called Ned Pepper (Barry Pepper).
The real rendezvous is Jeff Bridges meeting up with a cantankerous character already well-known to movie history. Bridges plays the grizzled humor of it and is especially good when growling out replies on the witness stand during a trial unrelated to the main plot.
This is an interesting lesson about movie acting. Jeff Bridges gives a nicely thought-out performance and scores well with it. But John Wayne carried his movie-star presence around with him like the sizable gut that preceded his entrance into a scene. There was absolutely no denying him or his scene-defining charisma.
Oddly enough, Matt Damon — who's been on a hot streak of late — is underwhelming as LaBouef, and Josh Brolin a bit hammy as Chaney. The smaller roles are filled by a gallery of splendid faces and unfamiliar gargoyles.
The movie looks gorgeous, as expected, and the Coens and cinematographer Roger Deakins create a beautiful interplay between wide-open spaces and intimate exchanges. The language of the movie, incredibly ornate, is also fun to listen to. It's no mystery why the Coens, whose dialogue tends to be on the elaborate side, were drawn to this style.
Having said all that, the Coens' “True Grit” carries with it a slightly academic air; it doesn't have the dreadful undercurrents of their recent pictures (even the slapstick “Burn After Reading” had a sinister quality), and it doesn't have the pizzazz of a story from a born entertainer. And, yes, you've heard this yarn before — but hearing it again is just fine.
“True Grit”
A remake of the 1969 western that won an Oscar for John Wayne; this time out it's Jeff Bridges wearing the eye-patch, as a U.S. marshal on a manhunt with an adolescent girl. There might be something slightly academic about the Coen brothers' adaptation, but the picture has the pleasing quality of a favorite book read aloud; you know the story already, but it's nice to hear it again.
Rated: PG-13 for violence.
Showing: Alderwood Mall, Cinebarre, Everett Stadium, Galaxy Monroe, Marsyville, Stanwood, Woodinville, Meridian, Thornton Place.
Where you've heard the story before is most likely the 1969 film version of “True Grit.” That box-office hit won a richly deserved Oscar for John Wayne, who was then moving into the final phase of his career. Both films are based on a novel by Charles Portis.
This new one was adapted by Joel and Ethan Coen, who recently trekked west in “No Country for Old Men.” Their take on “True Grit” is a lighter movie than that, but it offers the pleasures of the western genre in abundance.
That narrator is Mattie Ross, remembering the story from middle age. As a 14-year-old, Mattie (played by Hailee Steinfeld) arrives in an unfamiliar town to send home the body of her father, killed by the scoundrel Tom Chaney.
Being a spunky girl with no small sense of justice, she hires a U.S. marshal, Rooster Cogburn, to find Chaney and arrest him. Cogburn, the old John Wayne role, is played by Jeff Bridges, decked out in eye-patch, paunch and happy drinking habit.
Marshal and girl are accompanied in their manhunt by a Texas Ranger, LaBouef (Matt Damon), who's been tracking Chaney himself. Much of what happens is arranged in a few big sequences: a spellbinding set of action around a cabin at night and the trio's eventual rendezvous with a gang led by a scurvy varmint called Ned Pepper (Barry Pepper).
The real rendezvous is Jeff Bridges meeting up with a cantankerous character already well-known to movie history. Bridges plays the grizzled humor of it and is especially good when growling out replies on the witness stand during a trial unrelated to the main plot.
This is an interesting lesson about movie acting. Jeff Bridges gives a nicely thought-out performance and scores well with it. But John Wayne carried his movie-star presence around with him like the sizable gut that preceded his entrance into a scene. There was absolutely no denying him or his scene-defining charisma.
Oddly enough, Matt Damon — who's been on a hot streak of late — is underwhelming as LaBouef, and Josh Brolin a bit hammy as Chaney. The smaller roles are filled by a gallery of splendid faces and unfamiliar gargoyles.
The movie looks gorgeous, as expected, and the Coens and cinematographer Roger Deakins create a beautiful interplay between wide-open spaces and intimate exchanges. The language of the movie, incredibly ornate, is also fun to listen to. It's no mystery why the Coens, whose dialogue tends to be on the elaborate side, were drawn to this style.
Having said all that, the Coens' “True Grit” carries with it a slightly academic air; it doesn't have the dreadful undercurrents of their recent pictures (even the slapstick “Burn After Reading” had a sinister quality), and it doesn't have the pizzazz of a story from a born entertainer. And, yes, you've heard this yarn before — but hearing it again is just fine.
“True Grit”
A remake of the 1969 western that won an Oscar for John Wayne; this time out it's Jeff Bridges wearing the eye-patch, as a U.S. marshal on a manhunt with an adolescent girl. There might be something slightly academic about the Coen brothers' adaptation, but the picture has the pleasing quality of a favorite book read aloud; you know the story already, but it's nice to hear it again.
Rated: PG-13 for violence.
Showing: Alderwood Mall, Cinebarre, Everett Stadium, Galaxy Monroe, Marsyville, Stanwood, Woodinville, Meridian, Thornton Place.
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