Remaking a film whose lead actor won an Oscar for the role seems like a tall order, but for the Coen Brothers, anything cinematic is possible. The 1969 version of True Grit featured arguably the best performance of John Wayne’s career and supporting turns by the likes of Robert Duvall and Dennis Hopper. Nevertheless, the 2010 version surpasses it in every way.
The biggest difference between the two is the Coens’ decision to hew closely to the source material, Charles Portis’ novel. The novel is told through Mattie’s eyes as an adult narrator, which gives her an increased role and the film a rather different tone. The Coens also preserved a lot of the novel’s dialogue, leading to plenty of laugh-out-loud moments as deadpan remarks (“You are not La Boeuf,” Rooster observes as a bearskin-clad stranger approaches) and puffed-up prose. Lastly, not having to worry about filling The Duke’s shoes allows The Dude to interpret Rooster Cogburn in his own fashion. The result is a buffoonish, broken-down drunk who can nevertheless get the job done with amazing efficiency when the stakes are raised.
Bridges’ co-stars are every bit as good. Damon’s easily offended La Boeuf has comic relief trappings, but he’s still credible as a man of action. Ditto Brolin’s Chaney, a poorly regarded lout who is nevertheless a menace. Curiously, the role of gang leader Ned Pepper (Duvall in the original version) is played by Barry Pepper, who makes the most of his brief screen time.
However, the film is truly buoyed by Steinfeld, a relative newcomer who more than holds her own. She approaches Mattie with poise and makes the character almost admirable without betraying the book’s vision. The cinematic Mattie is still headstrong, insistent, and brave beyond her years, but not quite as insufferable as the literary narrator.
The look and sound of the film are top-notch thanks to the return of frequent Coen collaborators Roger Deakins (cinematography) and Carter Burwell (music). There is a good amount of frontier violence here, but True Grit has nothing on the Coens’ last foray out west (No Country For Old Men).
Whether it’s dark comedy or stark drama, an homage-laden original or a faithful adaptation, the Coen Brothers have proven in recent years that they are capable of writing and directing just about any kind of film. Where True Grit ranks among their other films is a matter of fan opinion (the competition is stiff, to say the least), but it singlehandedly defies the notion that remakes of decent flicks will be inherently inferior.
8.25/10
Oh it deserves at least an 8.4!
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