Pop culture seems to have fallen in love with the Western all over again in 2010. First there was Red Dead Redemption, a perfectly paced videogame from the makers of the Grand Theft Auto series. With Hollywood-caliber voice acting and top-notch production values, it is arguably the most exceptional game of the year, and proof of the awe the temporarily forgotten theater of the rugged frontier can still inspire. True Grit finishes the year with even stronger evidence.
Gone are the classic Western two-dimensional portrayals of puritanical and faultless good guys facing off against mustachioed villains with no redeeming qualities just begging to get got—the criminally under-appreciated Canuck Barry Pepper (Green Mile, Saving Private Ryan) is a show-stealer in his supporting role and especially hard to hate as a black-toothed bandit with a bit of a conscience named "Lucky" Ned Pepper.
Jeff Bridges, who last worked with the Cohen brothers in The Big Lebowski, brings Rooster Cogburn to life, creating a character just as memorable as The Dude. Cogburn is a perpetually drunk, one-eyed marshal tasked by tough-as-nails 14-year-old Mattie Ross (played by the amazing Hailee Steinfeld) to track down her father's killer, Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin). Ross and Cogburn team up with a straight-laced Texas Ranger who has been on Chaney's trail for some time, La Boeuf (played by a 'stache-sporting Matt Damon), and follow Chaney as he tries to escape Arkansas into Indian territory to the west.
Damon's La Boeuf and Bridges Cogburn make the perfect odd couple—thanks partially to stellar performances and partially to an incredibly sharp script packed with humor.
The precocious Mattie Ross has cojones bigger than the men she saddles up with and outwits bumbling businessmen and cunning cutthroats alike in her quest for justice. Steinfeld may be the best leading lady in a Cohen brothers’ film since Frances McDormand in Fargo.
While the Cohen brothers make some tweaks to the classic Western formula, remaining are shots of beautiful scenery (some even filmed around Austin), though they're now pasted together with killer ultra-slow dissolves. One semi-criticism: Anyone who has been to Arkansas will find it evident that True Grit's rocky winter landscapes draped in cold blue hues weren't filmed in the Natural State. But really, that's being nitpicky.
True Grit is stunning, and in true Cohen brothers fashion, it's a five-course meal of a movie filled with drama, comedy, adventure and unforgettable characters. It's also an all-ages crowd-pleaser that's rated PG-13 (no language and just a bit of violence), so for the love of all things holy, when your family wants to go to the theater this holiday weekend, pass on Yogi Bear and Tron Legacy.
--Eric Pulsifer
Gone are the classic Western two-dimensional portrayals of puritanical and faultless good guys facing off against mustachioed villains with no redeeming qualities just begging to get got—the criminally under-appreciated Canuck Barry Pepper (Green Mile, Saving Private Ryan) is a show-stealer in his supporting role and especially hard to hate as a black-toothed bandit with a bit of a conscience named "Lucky" Ned Pepper.
Jeff Bridges, who last worked with the Cohen brothers in The Big Lebowski, brings Rooster Cogburn to life, creating a character just as memorable as The Dude. Cogburn is a perpetually drunk, one-eyed marshal tasked by tough-as-nails 14-year-old Mattie Ross (played by the amazing Hailee Steinfeld) to track down her father's killer, Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin). Ross and Cogburn team up with a straight-laced Texas Ranger who has been on Chaney's trail for some time, La Boeuf (played by a 'stache-sporting Matt Damon), and follow Chaney as he tries to escape Arkansas into Indian territory to the west.
Damon's La Boeuf and Bridges Cogburn make the perfect odd couple—thanks partially to stellar performances and partially to an incredibly sharp script packed with humor.
The precocious Mattie Ross has cojones bigger than the men she saddles up with and outwits bumbling businessmen and cunning cutthroats alike in her quest for justice. Steinfeld may be the best leading lady in a Cohen brothers’ film since Frances McDormand in Fargo.
While the Cohen brothers make some tweaks to the classic Western formula, remaining are shots of beautiful scenery (some even filmed around Austin), though they're now pasted together with killer ultra-slow dissolves. One semi-criticism: Anyone who has been to Arkansas will find it evident that True Grit's rocky winter landscapes draped in cold blue hues weren't filmed in the Natural State. But really, that's being nitpicky.
True Grit is stunning, and in true Cohen brothers fashion, it's a five-course meal of a movie filled with drama, comedy, adventure and unforgettable characters. It's also an all-ages crowd-pleaser that's rated PG-13 (no language and just a bit of violence), so for the love of all things holy, when your family wants to go to the theater this holiday weekend, pass on Yogi Bear and Tron Legacy.
--Eric Pulsifer
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