Depending on your point of view, True Grit is either an adaptation of the 1968 novel by Charles Portis, or a remake of the 1969 Western starring John Wayne. Either way, it tells the story of Mattie Ross, a 14-year-old girl whose father is killed by a coward by the name of Tom Chaney. Swearing revenge upon Chaney, the stubborn and precocious youngster recruits Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges), an old and drunken U.S. Marshal, to help her hunt down the fugitive. They are joined along the way by LaBoeuf (Matt Damon), a self-important Texas Ranger also on Chaney's trail.I was disappointed by True Grit. Admittedly, Westerns are not my favourite genre but I had hoped that the Coen Brothers would have come up with something more interesting and distinctive. In fact, aside from one or two unexpected bursts of strong violence, the film bears almost none of the Coens' hallmarks and as such ends up as surprisingly generic and forgettable. Things pick up somewhat in the second half but it all eventually peters out to an anti-climactic ending - much like other recent Coen Brothers films. Perhaps they've simply forgotten how to write endings?
The one standout in the film was the performance of newcomer Hailee Steinfeld, a young girl with a very bright acting career ahead of her. My only argument against her recent Oscar nomination is that she has been named in the wrong category; hers is unquestionably the lead character in True Grit and as such a nod in the Supporting Actress category seems more than a little silly. Bridges and Damon are as good as you would expect them to be but both have had better performances in the past. All in all, this is an underwhelming effort that doesn't deserve even close to its 10 Oscar nominations.
VERDICT: Unspectacular. One for Western fans only.
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