True Grit

There's not much point in comparing this to John Wayne's version from 1969. In may ways it's similar - especially the dialogue - but in most it's a completely different telling of the story of the determined young "Mattie" (Hailee Steinfeld) whose father has been slain by "Chaney" (Josh Brolin) and who has now engaged the services of the curmudgeonly US Marshal "Rooster" (Jeff Bridges) to track him down. They are not the only folks looking for this man. "LaBoeuf" (Matt Damon) - a Texas Ranger - is also on his trail and so after a rocky start this trio set off in search of the man, now reportedly hooked up with the lawless "Ned Pepper" (Barry Pepper). What now ensues sees these three people, quite different in nature, spar and spat as they hone in on their quarry. Though I felt Damon rather underplayed the charismatic Texan, there's a solid effort here from Bridges who manages to imbue his character with a stubborn decency born out of experience and, I thought, a certain respect for this already well established role. The writing provides for some light-heartedness and Steinfeld delivers quite well too as the glue that holds the plot together as it builds to a menacing denouement that is altogether more plausible than the earlier iteration. The supporting cast chip in well too, with Dakin Matthews also quite entertaining as the hard-as-nails horse trader beaten into submission by her frequent references to a lawyer who can conquer all-comers. The photography grandly captures the scale of their trek and the beauty of their territory and there's a steady development of the story keeping the pace steady for just shy of two hours of this characterful adventure. It's not, for me, as good as the original - but it's a new look at the Western genre peppered with plenty of bile and bullets that works well.