True Grit - an Honest Western

I've never exactly been a huge fan of Westerns. I think maybe I speak for a lot of people when I say that. Despite being a genre synonymous with film and renowned for some of the most legendary films and film moments of all times, I've never met a ton of people in my time who love Westerns. Everyone has at least seen one, maybe A Fistful of Dollars here, a Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid over there, but not a ton of people I have met truly love Westerns. And that's okay. Westerns in their making were a genre perfect for their time in the mid 20th Century American film industry. But not every Western has exactly aged well. Yes, there are classics. The Searchers is another one I forgot to mention, but I've always found Westerns to be one of those genres that has not aged perfectly. So, why do I say all of this? Why do I talk about the flawed age of this genre when I'm about to praise a Western itself? Well, because the Coen Brothers' remake of True Grit is not only an amazing film, but one of the best modern entries of the Western genre. I normally am not a huge fan of every movie being remade, but I feel like the original from 1969 was one that needed one. A brilliant story about revenge in the Wild West and the consequences of seeking revenge, it simply got turned into another very standard John Wayne Western movie. So when the Coen Brothers remade it, this movie became so much more. I love this movie so much because of the things that make up Westerns as a genre. When people think of a Western film, we all have images that come into our mind. The big gunfight, the confident hero saving the day, the sun setting on a grateful town as our protagonist rides into the sunlight. This movie is so brilliant, because those things were in the original film, and it was a good story turned into simply another Western. But this film told the story right and showed the true magnitude and scope of a story this simple but brilliant story, while also capturing some utterly enthralling and beautiful shots of nature, incredible performances for the ages, an ending that redefines and puts the whole genre under the microscope for the rest of time while still keeping the Coen Brothers' classic side character charm, I cannot sing this movie's praises enough. So, let's break it down. This is the 2010 Coen Brothers' remake of True Grit.

Important to note, I will not speak a word on the original book. I have never read the book, and if I may be honest, do not fully want to. Nor will I be speaking on the original film very much. I basically just got out all I wanted to say about it. And this is not a comparison of the films. This will be focused on the Coen Brothers' film. So, let's get on with it.

The movie begins on a shot of a body in the snow, a voice in the darkness tells us the man is her father, the unnamed Frank Ross. As a horse gallops away, we learn the man was murdered by a Tom Chaney, an outlaw who shot her father, took his horse and ran off in the night. The voice named Mattie tells us of the deed and we soon meet her, ready to go about her mission: to hunt down Tom Chaney, shoot him dead, and claim revenge for her murdered father. It's a simple story, but it works wonders, especially when we meet our cast. Mattie Ross played by Hailee Steinfeld in her first feature length appearance begins her quest hunting for a man who can help her find the murderer. In any other Western, this is where we'd meet our larger than life, suave, gunslinger protagonist who will ride off into the sunset. Instead, we meet Rooster Cogburn played by the Dude himself, Jeff Bridges. The first place the film wins my heart is in the absolute truth of these two characters. Mattie in particular I find fascinating. In this film, what we see is what we get. We don't get any prologue of her and her father together and we don't get to see if she was always as cold as she is in the film. All we see is a cold girl who wants revenge. I know some will not love her character. I know that, acknowledge that and warn you. Because a character this cold, this shockingly passive about some of the things that happen in the film will simply not connect with many viewers. But that's what I find so utterly brilliant about not only the character, but Steinfeld's performance. She is not heartless, she is just shockingly driven. She does not let anything get in her way, and is relentless in how often she reminds Rooster of her mission to hunt down the outlaw. I love watching her in all the scenes, because after being exposed to the truth and brutality of her time and the world, she is just honest. She speaks truly and I love just watching her scan a room. She is fascinating. Equally fascinating is Rooster. Rooster is a character that like Mattie is utterly fascinating to watch. He seems like the kind of character that if we met 20 or 30 years earlier, we would have seen in other Western movies where the day is saved and that famous ride off into the sunset is seen. But that is not the man we meet. An officer with his gun ready, loaded and cocked constantly, he is just as ruthless as Mattie, and is actually scary. A drunkard, but a deadly one at that, he has clearly seen too much of the world and doesn't want Mattie to join on his mission, because he knows she'll see things that turned him into the man we see on screen. The dynamic of Rooster and Mattie had to be perfect, and they were guided brilliantly. I love seeing these two work together in this film because it's clear how much both characters do truly care about the other but simply cannot guarantee the other's safety. It's a beautiful dynamic that had to be perfect, and the Coen Brothers got it perfect.

I often find myself looking at movies or even art and saying to myself "I could have done that," though I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that I may have an eye for beauty, but nothing close to what I'm seeing before me. True Grit is a movie that seems simple in its cinematography, but is utterly beautiful when you truly look at it. A lot of shots in the film are just magnificent, be it their color or the scope or what all is happening within the frame, the film just looks beautiful. Which is odd in retrospect, because at first, it doesn't seem all that beautiful. Usually prettier shots are associated with prettier colors, something the film doesn't always achieve due to taking place in what seems to be Winter. But when you look at it, when you really look at it, the beauty of the film really seeps through. One of the greatest cinematographers of all time, Roger Deakins is to thank for the amazing work. Every frame of galloping horses, of Rooster in a dark mine tunnel, every hanging man on a high tree, every shot of the film looks brilliant in beautiful honesty that it has to really be seen to be believed.

However, I think the biggest reason I love the movie is in its honesty. As far as Westerns go, this might be the most honest depiction of what one of these stories might have actually played out like. There is no real ride off into the sunset moment in the movie. Instead, Mattie gets bit by a snake and with the nearest people being miles away, Rooster takes her and rides all night to save her life only to work her horse too hard and be forced to shoot her horse in the dead of the night and carry her to help. It is so brutal and heartbreaking to watch, but that's just truth right there. And then it only gets worse when we meet Mattie years later to meet an armless bitter woman who just wants to see her hero given a proper burial. There's not really a happy moment in this movie, and that's the honesty of it. This movie is about pure, cold blooded revenge. And then once that revenge is met, Mattie is bitter for the rest of her life, shown the truth of the world in all its hateful evilness for the rest of her days. At the beginning of the film, Mattie seems to be like a viewer of any Western movie. A bit more optimistic (that is to say optimistic for her standards), and ready to see the big journey go down as the man who killed her father is given true, Western justice. Only to go on this adventure to be hardened and saddened by the truth of the ugly world that one would live in at that time. Many will find it hard to watch and hard to like, but for me, it works wonders. It's a sad ending, it truly is. But it is the perfect ending. I've given endings a lot of thought recently with the ending of Game of Thrones (and trust me, this will connect). I am fine with a sad ending, or even an unsatisfactory ending. What I am not fine with is a BAD ending. An ending that doesn't satisfy any arcs or progression that the character's paths saw them go on or just leaves you wondering "what were they THINKING?!" I say this because there is a difference between Game of Thrones' ending and True Grit's. Game of Thrones is unsatisfactory and a bad ending. True Grit's is unsatisfactory and the only ending that would have fit this film. The film is about the truth of a story like this, the truth of the world, the truth of what revenge like Mattie's might bring you. It's not a satisfying ending in the sense of the word. It is a BUMMER and will leave you upset. But, well, that's the point. That's exactly what Mattie is feeling after going through this enormous quest just for one man and to suffer so much from it. It is an unsatisfactory ending, because you will leave your experience upset and wanting that ride off into the sunset. But this movie was never going to get that ending, and that's the truth of the matter. That's the honesty of it and that's why I love it, and this film, so much.

Truth and honesty are things I have focused on a lot during my last few months of studying acting. Mainly, how we can take what we are given and make our acting more honest by exploring the truth of the people we play, the truth of our circumstances and the truth of the story. The truth of a story like True Grit is that this was always going to be a bummer. And that is brilliant. This film never tries and lie to its audience to pull the rug out at the last moment and leave on a depressing note. No, it was depressing the entire time and leaves with a message to seemingly never get too obsessed with something otherwise it will be your downfall. This movie is brilliant in how honest and truthful it wants to tell the story of a girl who became bitter, all from an obsession that should have been left with the authorities. I love this movie, truly, and I can quite honestly say that True Grit is a masterwork of the Western genre, and a film that should be admired for its absolute thrilling honesty.