True Grit

The Coens are good storytellers and true lovers of film as a craft, you can feel it from every single frame. Westerns are tricky because it's a different era and it's not what it used to be. Today's audiences want to see more explosive Transformers rather than legends of the Wild West. But the directors have approached it in a relatively modern way, with a significant dose of brutality, spiced up with plenty of tomato ketchup. The grumpy Bridges is excellent, Hailee Steinfeld in the lead child role is absolutely charming, as well as Barry Pepper's rotten teeth. A film without compromises and classic western grit. On par, that's the right word that this piece evokes for me. (09/07/2011)

The Coen brothers are known for their maximum precision, with which they approach every tested genre and film being prepared. In True Grit, this can be seen in every aspect, whether it is the casting, prop selection, the well-crafted screenplay, and above all, traditionally high-quality directing. This film is a return to the traditional western, which experienced its golden age about 60 years ago and has been rather languishing in recent decades. Precisely because it is a return to the roots of the respective genre, there are no major surprises and it is not a modern genre variation like Dead Man or Dances with Wolves. This is a classic battle of good and evil, tough men and wilderness, where law and justice are far from what we imagine in today's courtrooms. However, it is rawer, less romantic, and somewhat more sober than the famous films of the golden era. Furthermore, the presence of a stubborn girl who stubbornly seeks to avenge her father's death and bosses around the gunmen brings important lightness to the film. It is unnecessary to highlight other film elements, such as the camera or music because in the case of the Coen brothers they always work perfectly. Overall impression: 80%. If I were a fan of the genre, I would not hesitate to give it 5 stars. (07/06/2011)

Maybe I need to apologize to the Coens or something. I saw True Grit in the movie theatre some time ago, wasn't too impressed, gave it three stars, praised the actors, Deakins and Burwell, complained about the lack of originality, that it was not in the Coens’ style, and the weird epilogue... That was it. But today I watched the DVD, and the complaints are almost gone. I don't know why that is. Maybe I already knew what I was getting into beforehand, and I wasn't expecting what I was expecting before the movie theatre screening, so I enjoyed myself. True Grit suddenly had great momentum and, in addition to the "execution", "hanged man", "Indian children" and "dentist" scenes (the latter especially), I was suddenly appreciating everything in between. Suddenly I found myself smiling for two hours, and at the end I was moved like a little boy. Just that epilogue, though... (23/09/2011)

A meaningful remake. A tribute to the original from the Coen brothers, but also they realize the mistakes of the original and certainly do not repeat them. They avoided a long introduction, and got rid of the landscape backdrops and the overall naivety. A dusty, tough atmosphere reigns, where harsh words fly from all angles. The Coens put their money on the characters, which turned out to be the right choice because, unlike the original, they gave them some depth (Wayne was just Wayne with a gun belt, while Bridges is actually Cogburn, and it’s the same with everybody else) and none were sidelined. This makes emotions important, while in the first version they were rather absent. And despite the outstanding performances of all those badass macho types, it is fourteen year-old Hailee Steinfeld who steals the movie (and who has the biggest balls). (02/01/2011)

I’m not a fan of westerns, but I really looked forward to True Grit. I was mostly curious to see how the Coens could incorporate their slower narrative and creeping Wild West vibe among those seasoned and rugged heroes, and it turned out pretty much the same as always does. Once again, they managed to create a very specific genre film with their own rules and formulas, something that never has the desired effect with their comedies (in my opinion), but it does with dark crime thrillers, and now also here – I was literally in bliss all the time. The story is a bit more adventurous for a classic western, it relies on a careful portrayal of each character, and if the Coens got a motif from somewhere, I think it was Jarmusch's Dead Man, which I thought of several times. Otherwise, the film has pretty much everything a proper western should have: beautiful landscapes, a straightforward plot, great villains (for a long time we imagine them only on the basis of the narrative, which earns them a lot of respect), and excellent performances – Bridges is brilliant, but the young Steinfeld towers over everyone. And then there's the Coens’ touch, which can sometimes make a film quite unpleasant, but usually adds a whole new and incredibly voluminous dimension. The western is still alive!........... I'm downgrading to 4* after a some time, unlike other top Coens’ films, this one has completely faded from my memory and I have no need to ever see it again. (25/11/2012)