Don’t be fooled. It may seem from the trailer that ‘True Grit’, directed by Ethan and Joel Coen, is about a strong headed teenage girl, played by Hailee Steinfeld, enlisting the aid of tough as nails U. S. marshal Reuben ‘Rooster’ Cogburn, played by Jeff Bridges, in tracking down her father’s killer in the stark wilds of the Indian territory circa . . . uh . . . whenever all of John Ford’s movies were set. But in reality, this remake of the 1969 John Wayne original is about one of Hollywood’s most talented directing teams dropping the ball on the frozen Arkansas dirt and spilling an overly talented cast into ditches of emotional detachment.
Since the 1980s the Coen brothers have been writing and directing films that earned them a reputation as auteurs, fully deserving of their own section in the local video store. Their latest project is always on the film connoisseur’s radar, and while their unique understated storytelling doesn’t always result in a compelling and satisfying film, they almost never make a movie not worth seeing (the one glaring exception being 2004’s ‘The Ladykillers’). ‘True Grit’ was by no means a bad movie, but it was definitely a substandard effort by the Coens.
Considering what the film had going for it helps shed light on how the opportunity for an amazing film was missed. Any Western worth its merit could list mother nature as a cast member, and it’s no surprise here that the austere, endlessly wild Old West landscape is a notable presence in every scene. The Coen’s camera appreciates the distinct color palette of unsettled Arkansas in winter. Joining the terrain in the cast are top echelon actors Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon in the role of the Texas ranger LaBoeuf, and Josh Brolin as the seedy lowlife murderer Tom Chaney. All of them fill out their roles admirably, giving life and a spark of interest to characters that a great story could be built around. The dialogue is sharp, clever, and in a distinctive and interesting style that believably evokes another time, place, and culture.
There were several scenes that left an impression, that I knew I would remember long after the credits rolled. But at the end of the whole film the prevailing feeling was that of being underwhelmed. Some of this has to do with the natural style of the Coen’s storytelling. They often have a very reserved and calm approach to their plotting and pacing (i.e. ‘Fargo’ (1996), ‘Burn After Reading’ (2008) – albeit with an infusion of manic unpredictability). They move slowly, with intention, letting their characters and the events they get them tangled in speak for themselves, without loud, dramatic action.
‘True Grit’ is no exception to that style, but sacrificing energy, action, and overt drama for subdued glances and purposeful plotting and dialogue means you’ve got to come through with well drawn, three dimensional characters. Your main characters need to be well written and complex enough give a glance, or subtly react to a quiet event or character interaction and have it carry some weight. You’d think Jeff Bridges playing Rooster Cogburn would be just that; a soul with some depth, a rough, craggy, ravined landscape of back story, motivation, and psychology. He seems like he would have had years and years of geological pressure turning him from a pile of sand into a complex, dark, dirty piece of sandstone, just in time to walk into the Coens’ story.
That character does not grace the screen however. Granted, Bridges does a great job with Cogburn, but it feels like he’s a character actor in this role. The extreme qualities of Cogburn that make him so interesting at first glance, the rough, asocietal gunslinger, the contemptuous vagabond, irresponsible, unstoppable, and full of enigmatic elusiveness, they turn out to exist just enough to be identified, but not enough to make him feel like he should be a central character to the film. He’s a great sketch, with some great ornery lines in beautiful dark browns and dirty tans, but he doesn’t go any deeper than what we learn about him in the expository trial scene in the beginning of the film.
This doesn’t bode well when the emotional drive of the story depends on the relationship between this character and the young girl, Mattie Ross. When the Mattie is kidnapped, and Cogburn becomes her potential rescuer, we’re too easily able to focus on how predictable a plot turn it is, because we’re not feeling anything emotionally relevant to the characters. The journey of these two disparate characters should have been a journey of development for both of them, especially concerning their relationship with each other. It was more of a yawn inducing plateau with occasional pointless interjections by Matt Damon. The scene before the kidnapping both Cogburn and Mattie are the exact same people we set out with at the beginning of the film.
So what should have been the emotional climax, the girl’s rescue, ended up being just another addition to a mildly entertaining Western set piece. Cogburn’s final act to save the girl is a huge commitment of heart and body, and the leap from where he was to that act is unbelievable, to the point of just looking silly.
Unfortunately all of the above said about Cogburn’s undeveloped character is true for Mattie as well. Guess what! She’s got gumption! And sass! For the whole film! For a truly earnest and inspiring strong, teenage, female character, Ms. Steinfeld and the brothers Coen should have taken inspiration from Jennifer Lawrence’s Ree Dolly from this year’s ‘Winter’s Bone’. Matt Damon plays the supporting Texas ranger well, but it was not an emotionally challenging role for him. The film finishes up with a superfluous epilogue ending that seems like it’s part of a different story entirely.
While the Coen brothers are sure to be a noticeable presence in Hollywood for some time, ever present contributors to great film, ‘True Grit’ will not soon be joining the list of great Westerns. Like Rooster with his dead eye, but without his dead eye accuracy, they’ve emptied all six chambers of their Colt’s Dragoon and shot wide of the target.
~Patrick O’Roark
p.s. If you’re in the mood for a great Western, you’d do much better to rent ‘3:10 to Yuma’ (2007), starring Russel Crowe and Christian Bale. Hands down the best Western I’ve seen in a very long time.
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