What Do The Critics Say?
"The good news is it's phenomenally solid. It feels well orchestrated. Well put together. It just sets out to tell a really good story and it does. Jeff Bridges as Rooster Cogburn is both hilarious and deadly. It's definately worth catching."
Widgett Walls NEEDCOFFEE
"When The Coen Brothers (TM) remake a John Wayne western with Jeff Bridges, Josh Brolin and Matt Damon it somehow seems apt that it’s the unknown fourteen year old girl who steals the show. Hailee Steinfeld is Mattie Ross, an uppity girl in the wild west who hires a grizzled old U.S. Marshall, Rooster Cogburn. Steinfeld more than holds her own."
Giles Hardie SYDNEY MORNING HERALD
"Honestly, this is a better film than the first 'True Grit'. The Coen brothers have made their most sincere film yet, a western as spare and yet majestic as its unspoiled landscapes."
Nell Minnow BELIEF NET
"Jeff Bridges ably out-grizzles Wayne as Rooster. Even a "pretty good" Coen brothers film is still head and shoulders above career bests by most filmmakers."
Ian Buckwalter DCist
"Steinfeld gives a very self-assured performance. The movie surpasses the original in sound effects, cinematography and a Western-themed original score."
Keith Cohen ENTERTAINMENT SPECTRUM
"What you don't get from the commercials is how wonderfully funny it is. In True Grit, they deliver what they normally do. A fantastic mix of humor and, you'll forgive me here, grit."
Jenna Busch SHEKNOWS NETWORK
"Steinfeld is a sensation as the formidable negotiator intent on avenging her father's murder. The Coen Brothers inject plenty of grit into the film. This is a western to savour; for the uninitiated, the Coen Brothers' film is one with which to begin a love affair."
Louise Keller URBAN CINEFILE
"Steinfeld easily takes the honor this time around with a performance that belies the actress's age and experience. Saddled with high expectations and remaking a classic, the Coen brothers craft a fine, straightforward Western. Bridges’ performance benefits from his compelling interactions with Steinfeld and Damon, as well as the chance to deliver the film’s funniest lines. 'True Grit' is true to the genre."
Alison Gang SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE
"The filmmaking brothers are a perfect match for the material, and 2010's True Grit turned out to be one of the best films of the year. This True Grit is based solely and completely on the Charles Portis novel."
Rebecca Murray ABOUT.COM
"It plays to deeps but, it plays brilliantly on the surface as well. Underneath the plainness of 'True Grit' are currents of satire and the wryest sense of extratextual irony."
Walter Chaw FILM FREAK FRENZY
"The Coen brothers go mainstream with hugely satisfying results. Humor that rises from the sharply drawn characters and the dialogue they spout. And how wonderfully they spout!"
Matt Soergel FLORIDA TIMES-UNION
"Steinfeld's performance as Mattie Ross is sensational. Bridges and Damon are also in top form. I'm venturing into Choctaw spoiler territory here. Just saddle up and see it yourself."
Dana Stevens SLATE
"The rambunctious side of Jeff Bridges is allowed out to play at full throttle as Rooster Cogburn, the one-eyed frontier Marshall with a reputation for taking no prisoners. Impatient, gruff, whisky drinking double divorcee that he is, Rooster develops a soft spot for Matty. Good storytelling drives the drama, with wonderful production design by Jess Gonchor, especially the superbly realised outpost town. Together with Carter Burwell's terrific, unpredictable score and eye pleasing camerawork by Roger Deakins, the film delivers not just retribution but audience satisfaction."
Andrew L Urban URBAN CINEFILE
The Inside Story
In 1968, The Saturday Evening Post published a serial novel that riveted readers with a story that immediately felt like a grand and timeless American legend: a story that kept them hungering for more. It was Charles Portis's True Grit, the tale of an unusually stalwart young girl seeking to avenge her father’s death with the aid of a washed-up, frontier lawman and a forthright Texas Ranger who all set out into Indian Territory to find the killer. Laced with deadpan humor, rife with ruggedly individualistic characters and cut through with richly American themes; the novel would take on a life of its own. Like Mattie Ross, it would cross the river into that realm where real life events turn into tall tales and legends, becoming both a bestseller and an enduring literary classic, passed from reader to reader and writer to writer, over the decades. The book was soon being taught in schools, became a 1969 movie starring John Wayne in the Oscar® winning role of Rooster Cogburn, and the title was woven into the very fabric of the language. The words 'true grit' came to represent the kind of single-minded, cocksure gutsiness that can see a person through incomprehensible circumstances: a concept at the core of the American spirit. But Portis's story was about more than courage. Narrated by the starkly unsentimental spinster that Mattie Ross becomes in the wake of her escapade, it also probed the restlessness of the American character, with its conflicts between the yearning for adventure and the need for home, between the desire to right injustices and the cost of such retribution to body and soul. The characters of Mattie, Rooster Cogburn and LaBoeuf clash in big ways not just with each other and the outlaws they’re after, but with their own hearts as they veer between the untamed and the righteous. What lends the novel its timelessness and transcendent quality most of all is Mattie’s voice, which stands apart in literature. Best-selling author George Pelecanos in a 1996 NPR interview, explained: "Mattie’s voice, wry and sure, is one of the great creations of modern fiction. I put it up there with Huck Finn’s and that is not hyperbole. Most importantly, it can be appreciated by readers of various ages, education levels and economic backgrounds. It is an egalitarian work of art." Portis would ultimately write five novels: Norwood (1966); "True Grit" (1968); "The Dog of the South" (1979); "Masters of Atlantis" (1985) and "Gringos" (1991). Over the years, readers have fallen in love with his alchemical blend of comic folksiness and bold archetypal themes. Among those who came to admire his works were Joel and Ethan Coen, who themselves have spun some of the most compelling motion picture tales of our times, starting with the noir classic "Blood Simple" and including: "Raising Arizona", "Miller’s Crossing", "Barton Fink", "The Man Who Wasn’t There", "O Brother Where Art Thou?", "A Serious Man" and, the Oscar® winners "Fargo" (1996) and "No Country For Old Men" (2007). "We’d read Charles Portis’ books but this one seemed especially amenable to have a movie made from it," says Ethan Coen. "The story is definitely in that weird genre of young persons adventures," says Joel Coen. The novel is also decidedly a Western, a genre that the Coen brothers wanted to tackle outright for the first time. Although some might want to put No Country for Old Men in that category, for Joel and Ethan that film was a modern thriller. "We never really considered that a Western. That was in our minds something different," says Joel.
The Coens Bros screenplay stays faithful to Portis's construction of the novel. Echoing Portis, the Coen Bros aimed to give Mattie’s voice (as plain, unflinching and sonorous as an old ballad) its full due on the screen and to paint the equally mesmerizing Rooster Cogburn and the Texas Ranger LaBoeuf through the light of her recognition: or hope; that they all might be connected by something gritty and honorable in their spirits. Jeff Bridges, who was cast in the role of Cogburn, says it was the idea of mixing the book’s authentic cadence and rollicking yet moving tone with the Coen Bros cinematic approach that got him so excited to tackle an iconic character in a fresh way. "When the Coens first mentioned the idea of making "True Grit", I said 'Gee, didn’t they make that movie? Why do you want to do it again?' and they said, 'We’re not remaking the film, we’re making a version of the original book by Charles Portis.' So I read the book and I immediately saw what they were talking about. It seemed like the perfect story for the Coens to make into a movie. And since they have never made an actual Western adventure before, it was going to be a surprise." "I’d never read the book until the Coens gave it to me, but it’s a fantastic American novel that deserves to be recognized as that," adds Matt Damon ("Hereafter"), who plays LaBoeuf. "Their adaptation was just great. They used so much of the original dialogue and captured Charles Portis's ear for the way people really spoke. I was just floored by it. Yet you always feel the Coens voice because they’re such powerful artists." 2006 Western Heritage Bronze Wrangler Award winner Barry Pepper ("The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada "), who plays the outlaw Lucky Ned Pepper and works with the Coens for the first time on True Grit, concludes: "The dialogue in the novel is like cowboy poetry done by Shakespeare. The Coen brothers got that rhythm, that precise musicality. What’s remarkable about their adaptation is how specific and true the language is. The way they have re-interpreted and then visually expanded on what Portis did in his novel is something quite beautiful and special." Driven as much by the dynamics of character as action, the films casting would be crucial. As with many of the Coen brothers films, the screenplay drew a decorated roster of actors. The biggest challenge at hand was to find an actress who could imbue Mattie with equal parts innocence and insolence, who could get at both the girlish tenderness and the unassailable grit in her being. Casting directors Ellen Chenoweth and Rachel Tenner spent months crossing the nation, holding open casting calls and watching fifteen thousand of girl. Then, at the very last moment, they found her. The needle in the haystack, the person to carrying the film, would be Hailee Steinfeld. She would turn the larger than life tenacity, forbearance and spunk of the book’s heroine and narrator, Mattie Ross, into the flesh and blood of an unusual child who doesn’t varnish her opinions, or relent on her intentions, for anyone. "We cast Hailee pretty much just before we started shooting, and we were very lucky to find her," four time Oscar® winner Joel says. "Kind of like the character, she’s totally imperturbable and unintimidated," three time Oscar® winner for "No Country For Old Men" Ethan notes. Steinfeld is forthright about her love of the character. "Who wouldn’t be attracted to Mattie? She’s tough, she’s witty and she’s just fourteen, which is incredible. She has one goal, to find the killer of her father, and she tells herself she will not go on with her life until it is done and then she goes for it. hat’s the main similarity between us: that we would both stop at nothing to get what we want."
Thirteens years old at the time of casting, Hailee so wanted the part that she turned up at her final audition in a burlap skirt and outfit her mother had handcrafted from Salvation Army clothes. "I read with Jeff Bridges and Barry Pepper and I felt really prepared and ready. That was a good feeling." So, did Steinfeld experience any trepidation? "I was more fascinated by the Coens than intimidated by them. They, and all of the actors, were so humble that they didn’t come off as intimidating at all. They all treated me like one of their own." In one scene, Steinfeld had to endure an epic spanking from Matt Damon’s LaBoeuf, but even then, she was unflappable. "After every take, Matt would say, 'Oh my gosh, are you OK? I didn’t hurt you, right? You promise you’ll tell me if I do.' But I thought it was fun and also funny." The casting of the key men in the story fell into place more directly. From early days, the Coen Bros knew they wanted Jeff Bridges for the role of Rooster Cogburn. Bridges, who had just won an Academy Award® for his role as a down-and-out country singer in "Crazy Heart", had been cast by Joel and Ethan in their 1998 film, "The Big Lebowski". A self–described 'one-eyed fat man', Cogburn might carry a fearsome reputation that attracts Mattie, but he does not present an initial portrait of competence. Bridges, who apeared with his mother Dorothy and brother Beau in the 1951 film, "The Company She Keeps", came fresh at the role, leaving entirely aside John Wayne’s performance in a very different kind of film from a very different era of moviemaking. "Rooster Cogburn kind of straddles the law, he’s got one foot on the side of the law and one foot entirely against it," the six time Oscar® nominee wryly observed. "But Mattie is looking for a man who has true grit, and that, he certainly has in spades. He’s got that thing where no matter how tough the situation is, he’s going to see it through to the end." For Bridges ("Seabiscuit"), a big part of the pleasure of playing Cogburn was getting to quibble, quarrel and ride alongside Hailee Steinfeld. "Mattie is the most challenging role in the film. The whole screenplay is centered around her. I was worried at first about Hailee because this is her first movie, but by the end of the first day of filming, I just said, 'Oh, God, did we luck out with her.' She has a wonderful sweetness but then she overlays that with the hard edge of this character. She pulled it off so well, she didn’t require much advice." With Bridges set as Rooster, Matt Damon, most recently seen as a South African soccer star François Pienaar in Clint Eastwood's "Invictus", was chosen in a departure as the self-possessed Texas Ranger LaBoeuf. Damon had wanted to work with the Coens for a long time, but never had the chance until he was approached to play LaBoeuf who he describes as a "little full of himself and he’s a bit of a windbag, a guy who can really hold court." The Coens reunite with Josh Brolin (who had a breakout role in "No Country for Old Men"), casting him as Tom Chaney, the craven killer who sparks the film’s epic chase. Pepper (Frank Slaughtery in "25th Hour") says working with Brolin was something rare. "Watching Josh create his character was intriguing because Tom’s this real simian-like thug and when Josh steps into him there’s just absolutely no remnant of his former self left. He was willing to present the character as he is in all his wrinkles and flaws. I was really, really impressed with that." "True Grit" is set in 1878 when the U.S. consisted of only thirty eight states. Fort Smith, Arkansas: where Mattie’s father died; was the very westernmost border of the nation. A popular saying about Ft Smith at the time was: "There is no law west of St Louis and no God west of Ft Smith."
What's It All About?
 Mattie Ross arrives in Fort Smith as her family’s sole representative, in search of the coward Tom Chaney, who is said to have killed her father for two gold pieces before setting out into Indian Territory as a fugitive. Beholden to follow Chaney and see him hanged, Mattie enlists the help of a man rumored to be the most ruthless U.S. Marshal in town: a trigger-happy, drunken Rooster Cogburn: who, after many objections, agrees to hunt Chaney. Chaney is already the target of the talkative Texas Ranger LaBoeuf, who also aims to catch the killer and bring him back to Texas for an ample reward which brings the trio to collide on the trail. Each willful and stubborn, each driven by their own rough moral codes, this unlikely posse rides towards an unpredictable reckoning, becoming enveloped in the stuff of legend: mischief and brutality, courage and disillusion, doggedness and unalloyed love.
The Verdict
"One sure fire way to spoil any chance of enjoying the Coen Bros latest film "True Grit", would be to go into a screening, clinging to the nostalgic ideal that nothing could be better than the 1969 John Wayne version. Let's be brutally honest and not waste time beating around the bush: if you are a huge fan of the Henry Hathaway original: nothing, even a film this good; is going to sway your opinion that no-one could ever replace 'The Duke' as Rooster Cogburn. Well, I'm here to tell you, that someone has. The man who played 'The Dude' in Joel Coen's 1998 film, "The Big Lebowski" and wowed audiences with his Oscar® winning role in "Crazy Heart", Jeff Bridges, does. And to add more fuel to the fire, Matt Damon makes his counterpart Glenn Campbell look like a rank amateur. As in the original version, the key to success of "True Grit" is the character, Mattie Ross. In 1969, twenty one year old Kim Darby, who's career had kicked off in 1963 was cast as Mattie. In 2010, an unknown thirteen year old (but soon to be Oscar® nominee), Hailee Steinfeld, was cast in the role. I must admit, I still love the original "True Grit". But having now seen the Coen Bros version a number of times, I hold a deep regard for this re-telling of Charles Portis's 1968 novel "True Grit": as I do for (without diminishing their body of work), both "O Brother Where Art Thou?" and "No Country For Old Men". I'm sure their first western will win audiences over with its 'True Grit'. 5 STARS."
The Production Team
Directors
Screenplay
Recreated from
Producers
Original Music
D.O.P.
Film Editors
Casting
Production Design
Art Direction
Sup Art Director
Set Decoration
Costume Design
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Ethan & Joel Coen
Joel & Ethan Coen
the Charles Portis 1968 novel "True Grit"
Ethan Coen/Joel Coen/Scott Rudin
Carter Burwell
Roger Deakins A.S.C. & B.S.C.
Roderick Jaynes
Ellen Chenoweth
Jess Gonchor
Stefan Dechant
Christina Ann Wilson
Nancy Haigh
Mary Zophres
Who Is Playing Who?
Jeff Bridges
Hailee Steinfeld
Matt Damon
Josh Brolin
Barry Pepper
Dakin Matthews
Jarlath Conroy
Paul Rae
Domhnall Gleeson
Elizabeth Marvel
Roy Lee Jones
Ed Corbin
Leon Russom
Bruce Green
Candyce Hinkle
Peter Leung
Don Pirl
Joe Stevens
David Lipman
Jake Walker
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Rooster Cogburn
Mattie Ross
LaBoeuf
Tom Chaney
Lucky Ned Pepper
Col Stonehill
Undertaker
Emmett Quincy
Moon (The Kid)
40-Year-Old Mattie
Yarnell
Bear Man
Sheriff
Harold Parmalee
Boarding House Landlady
Mr Lee
Cole Younger
Lawyer Goudy
First Lawyer
Judge Parker
Run Time 110 minutes
Rated M [AUST]
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