True Grit

The western is a genre that we have not seen much of lately. Much like musicals they are only made if there is one successful one first. Thankfully the brilliant film makers Joel and Ethan Coen have made a hugely successful western.

I think that you have to consider the western as a very delicate thing. It is a genre that needs to be made by a very skilled film maker(s). It can easily be stuffed up. Luckily the Coen brothers decided to make a western. I watched the previous version of this story made in 1969 with John Wayne and was amazed at how similar it was to the new version the Coens have made. Granted they have adapted the same book but they look like almost identical films. Even some of the characters look the same. The one major difference though is the focus of the story. Being John Wayne, the previous film was more focused on him and his story. But the story is more about the young girl Mattie Ross. It is a very simple story and the Coen's have told it in a simple way with no big embellishments. You just know you are in the hands of skilled film makers who know what they are doing. Their films have an air of dignity about them.

I'm probably going to cop some criticism for this but the only slightly, and I mean slightly, disappointing thing about this film is the casting of Jeff Bridges. Don't get me wrong he is brilliant in this film and very much like John Wayne. But I do think his casting is a little bit obvious. Considering he has worked with the Coens before they naturally use him again and he is perfect for the role but you kind of expected him to be cast. Matt Damon is perfectly cast though. You barely recognise him as he rarely has a mustache but he is also excellent as the cocky Texas Ranger. Josh Brolin is excellent too. He has only a few scenes but he makes good use of them. The real revelation though is young Hailee Steinfeld. With the story being about her character she has to carry most of the film and she does a brilliant job of it. She is an amazing young actress that I'm sure we'll see more of in the future.

The western is back. We have a couple of other western type films coming out this year so hopefully if they are successful too we will see more of them in the future. In the meantime go see this excellent film and see how it is supposed to be done.