True Grit (2010)

Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld) arrives in Fort Smith at the tender age of 14 with vengeance on her mind.

Her father has been killed by a drunken hired hand named Tom Chaney, who stole his horse and his two gold pieces.

Now he’s on the run, and the law doesn’t seem in much of a hurry to catch him.

So she decides to hire her own marshal to track Chaney down and opts for the one who’s described to her as having “true grit” — an aging, hard-drinking lawman named Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges).

He’s a man who doesn’t bother bringing them back alive if it’s not convenient or if the outlaws put up nary a bit of resistance.

Cogburn’s reluctant to take the job. He’s even more reluctant to have Mattie tag along.

He does form a partnership with a Texas Ranger named LeBoeuf (Matt Damon), who’s after the same outlaw.

Seems Chaney previously killed a Texas senator in a fight over a dog.

LeBoeuf wants to take Chaney back to Texas so he hangs for that crime; Mattie’s determined to see him punished for her father’s death instead.

Of course, finding Chaney will be the first challenge. The second will be bringing him to justice, because all signs point to that fact that he’s joined an outlaw gang led by Lucky Ned Pepper.

Jeff Bridges as Rooster Cogburn, examining a hanged man to see if it’s someone he knows in True Grit (2010)

Hailee Steinfield as Mattie Ross, hearing about Marshal Rooster Cogburn for the first time in True Grit (2010)

Review:

Certainly miles better than most low-budget Westerns we’re provided in the 21st century, and the Coen brothers, to their credit, do not give us a line-by-line, blow-by-blow remake of the John Wayne version of the story.

But, gee, if you’re going to spend $30 million on a Western that looks as great as this one does, wouldn’t a fresh story be better? One where fans of the genre don’t know how things are likely to turn out?

As for the cast, Hailee Steinfeld is the revelation, holding her own while surrounded by the likes of Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon and poor Josh Brolin, who gets to play an outlaw who can’t catch a break and winds up being shot – twice – by a teenage girl.

As for true grit, that 14-year-old girl winds up showing as much as anyone in the film.

Matt Damon as LaBoeuf, meeting Mattie Ross for the first time in True Grit (2010)

Josh Brolin as Tom Chaney, the man Mattie is seeking because he killed her father in True Grit (2010)

Directed by:
Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

Cast:
Jeff Bridges … Rooster Cogburn
Hailee Steinfeld … Mattie Ross
Matt Damon … LaBoeuf
Josh Brolin … Tom Chaney
Barry Pepper … Lucky Ned Pepper
Dakin Matthews … Col. Stonehill
Jariath Conroy … Undertaker
Paul Rae … Emmett Quinc
Dombnall Gleeson … Moon
Elizabeth Marvel … older Mattie
Ed Corbin … Bear Man
Leon Russom … Sheriff
Bruce Green … Harold Parmalee

Runtime: 114 min.

Barry Pepper as Lucky Ned Pepper, the man whose gang Tom Chaney joins in True Grit (2010)

Elizabeth Marvel as an older Mattie, visiting a Wild West show and hoping for a reunion with Rooster in True Grit (2010)

Memorable lines:

Cogburn: “Chaney could be a corpse.”
Mattie: “That would be a bitter disappointment.”

LaBoeuf, upon meeting Mattie: “You give out very little sugar with your pronouncements. While I sat there watching I gave some thought to stealing a kiss. Though you are very young. And sick. And unattractive to boot. But now I have a mind to give you five or six good licks with my belt.”
Mattie Ross: “One would be just as unpleasant as the other.”

Cogburn, looking up at a man hanging high in a tree: “Is it Chaney?”
Mattie: “I would not recognize the soles of his feet.”
Cogburn: “Well, you’ll have to clamor up. I’m too old and fat.”

Mattie: “We promised to bury the poor soul inside.”
Cogburn: “Ground’s too hard. If them men wanted a decent burial, they should have gotten themselves kilt in summer.”

Dombnall Gleeson as Moon, one of the outlaws Rooster finds taking refuge in a cabin in True Grit (2010)

Paul Rae as Emmett Quinc, one of the outlaws hiding in a cabin and found by Rooster Cogburn in True Grit (2010)

Rooster Cogburn, after missing a bottle he threw into the air: “The Chinaman is running them cheap shells on me again.
LaBoeuf: “I thought you were going to say the sun was in your eyes. That is to say, your eye.”

Cogburn, after LeBoeuf uses a Latin phrase: “I’m struck. That LeBoeuf has been shot, trampled and nearly severed his tongue. Not only does he not cease to talk, but he spills the banks of English.”

Cogburn: “I mean to kill you in one minute, Ned. Or see you hanged in Fort Smith at Judge Parker’s convenience. Which will you have?”
Ned: “I call that bold talk for a one-eyed fat man.”
Cogburn: “Fill your hand, you son of a bitch.”

Hailee Steinfield as Matt Ross and Jeff Bridges as Rooster Cogburn, watching LaBoeuf ride off in True Grit (2010)

Dakin Matthews as Col. Stonehill, the businessman unfortunate to run afoul of Mattie Ross in True Grit (2010)

Jariath Conroy a the undertaker who allows Mattie Ross to spend a night sleeping in a room with his corpses in True Grit (2010)

Ed Corbin as Bear Man, one of the eccentrics Rooster and Mattie cross paths with in True Grit (2010)

Matt Damon as LaBoeuf, taking aim for a long-distance shot with his Sharps rifle in True Grit (2010)

Hailee Steinfild as Matt Ross, holding the man she’s been seeking at gunpoint in True Grit (2010)

Jeff Bridges as Rooster Cogburn, trying to keep traveling partner LaBoeuf in line in True Grit (2010)

Matt Damon as LaBoeuf and Hailee Steinfield as Mattie Ross, watching Rooster Cogburn ride into trouble in True Grit (2010)