Intestinal Fortitude

I met a man who stonewalled me about 'True Grit'. He refused to think that the latest Coen Brothers movie was better than the John Wayne original. Oh Lord, where to start?

First, the introduction we get to the American West through the marvelous set direction and costuming of this latest Jeff Bridges version, is stunning. The bleakness of the local town,with its no frills living and basic justice where the young heroine meets her unlikely hero, is a pared down less than marvelous spot. You know lean persons live here, living lean and mostly mean themselves. No place for a lady and no place for a child.

The Coens have coaxed a performance out of the young actress that winds us up and sets us off on a wild adventure and if you doubt her acting cred or the Coens ability to direct, have a look at her negotiating scene with the Stock and Station Agent. She whirls Jeff Bridges as U.S. Marshal Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn onto a mission that he regrets very quickly but not quickly enough to avoid it.

This 'True Grit' gives you an idea of the hardships and loneliness of that life and the ending is the most exhilarating I have seen for a long time. The film follows the characters through relentlessly and, knowing as we mostly do our own frailties, it is moving to see the natural consequences of their acts several decades later. They never get past what happened to them neither do they deviate from the paths their personalities set them on.

If you really want to see the difference between the two films, have a look at the trailers. One is lean and crisp and the other, well... not. And then just ask yourself whether a law man on a horse would really wear a hat several sizes too small to go about his business.


Click here to see the two 'True Grit' trailers: