I first learned that there was going to be a remake of True Grit when I saw the preview for the new movie. My initial reaction was, “Why would anyone remake a classic John Wayne western?” As the preview rolled on, I noticed that Jeff Bridges was in the movie, and he is one of my favorite actors. Then, in the preview, there was Matt Damon playing the Glenn Campbell role, which looked good. Finally, at the end of the preview it said that the movie was created by the Coen Brothers. I was on board.
The movie lives up to expectations. The new True Grit (TG2010) is a faithful tribute to the John Wayne classic from 1969 (TG1969) as well as to the novel upon which both movies are based. The acting is excellent. Although the stars Bridges and Damon do a great job as always, the movie depends on the role of Mattie, played by 13-year-old Hailee Steinfeld. Steinfeld carries much of the movie on her shoulders well. The original role of 14-year-old Mattie was played by the 21-year-old Kim Darby, who did a good job but is not quite believable as a child for today’s viewers.
Unfortunately, movies often portray the bad guys as brilliant pure evil characters. Such portrayals are unrealistic, as real-life criminals are generally less intelligent than movie portrayals, and instead of pure evil spirits, they are human beings (and often mentally disturbed as appears in the recent Arizona shootings of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and others by Jared Lee Loughner). Although the villains in TG2010 have little screen time, the Coen brothers add some complexity to roles that others may have portrayed as caricatures. Here, the villains are played as characters with limited intelligence or with realistic conflicting qualities. Barry Pepper does an excellent job in the role originally portrayed by Robert DuVall. TG2010 is a little more violent than TG1969, but the Coen Brothers used violence in a realistic way without raising the violence to a level they have done in some of their other movies like No Country for Old Men and Fargo.
The Coen Brothers also give some complexity to the three main heroes. Although I like the final scene from the original True Grit, the Coens ended the movie in a way that was both faithful to their vision and more faithful to the novel, both in changing the coda as well as changing the fates, to varying degrees, of the three main characters.
Westerns, by their nature, are often elegiac in nature, and True Grit 2010 is no exception. The American Heritage Dictionary defines “elegiac” as “of, relating to, or involving elegy or mourning or expressing sorrow for that which is irrecoverably past.” The movie seems elegiac for both its portrayal of a western past and for its version of how we saw movies in the past.
One of the haunting elements of the movie is its use of a limited musical score, often allowing us to hear the silence and the wind blowing on the plains. Throughout the movie, the ongoing musical theme is the spiritual “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms,” which also played a key part in the movie, Night of the Hunter (addressed in a previous post). The musical connection is appropriate, as True Grit and the Robert Mitchum movie both feature the fellowship of good people triumphing over outside threats. When True Grit ends and the credits role, we are given the song once again, this time with Iris DeMent providing the vocals. The words from a specially written song would not fit True Grit’s portrayal of the three-person fellowship better: “Oh, how sweet to walk in this pilgrim way,/Leaning on the everlasting arms.”
Conclusion? True Grit 2010 is a worthwhile remake of a good movie, tweaking the original without obliterating the memory of the first movie. The character studies, the sparkling dialogue, the scenery, and the action make it an entertaining adventure. How does it compare to the 1969 movie? I missed John Wayne’s charm, but overall the 2010 movie has a more believable cast with some nice realistic story twists. Watch and enjoy both.
Bonus “Listen to this Song Instead of Watching the Trailer Advice”(above): Although I loved the preview for True Grit 2010, if you are going to see the movie, you do not need to see the trailer (or you may find it easily on YouTube). The trailer’s focus on retribution is misleading, and it shows a few good lines and scenes that are better left to your movie viewing, especially if you have never seen the 1969 movie. What might help you enjoy the movie is familiarity with the beautiful musical theme of the movie, so instead of the preview, above is Iris DeMent’s version of “Leaning on the Everlasting Arms.”
Bonus Reviews (1/13/11 update): If you would like to read more about the plot, check out this review from Cinema Viewfinder, which reminded me that the Coens had echoed Night of the Hunter in Raising Arizona too (with the “Hate” and “Love” tattoos on the outlaw biker). Here is another review that is much more critical of the original True Grit, but it has a nice discussion of Night of the Hunter, noting that the line, “The Dude abides” from The Big Lebowski was also inspired by the Robert Mitchum movie.
What did you think of the movie? Leave a comment.
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I think I like Iris Dement, but a little less so after seeing the video, which I couldn’t really watch it straight on. Why is one of the images a little boy drinking a beer?
There is now a video of the song with images of the movie, so I’ve inserted the new video. When the film was released, there was only one Iris DeMent video of the song on YouTube, but the film seems to have inspired more videos of the song.
You should not hold the video against Iris Dement. There is no official video for the song, so the only full recording on YouTube featured this video made by a fan. Where is the boy drinking a beer?
Even though I have not seen the new True Grit, I will have to respectfully disagree with your comment that the new version is a “faithful tribute” to the old. I heard the Coen brothers interviewed on Fresh Air last night. They stated that they did not even watch the John Wayne version in making theirs and also ridiculed the John Wayne version to a great degree (which I found curious since they did not watch it). Lost some respect for them after hearing that interview.
I did not hear the interview, so thanks for that information. By saying that the new movie works as a tribute to the original, I meant more that the end product is similar enough to the original that it evokes the original and does not degrade it. I would still claim that is true, even if their intent were different. I also wonder whether they have never seen the movie at all in their lives or whether they just avoided watching it again when they decided to do the remake so they would be freer to follow their own instincts?
dans l original john Wayne en 69 change de bandeau de son œil cest voulu ou non?
My French is not very good, but I think you are pointing out that John Wayne wore his eye patch on his left eye while Jeff Bridges wore it on his right, wondering if the switch was intentional? If so, that is an interesting observation. Bridges explained that he tried out the eye patch on either eye and it felt more comfortable on his right eye. So apparently it was not done intentionally to differ from John Wayne’s version. In this interview, Joel Coen mentions that he had not even noticed they were doing a different eye than Wayne did.
http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Interview-The-Cast-And-Filmmakers-Behind-True-Grit-22321.html
Merci pour le commentaire!