True Grit

The Coen brothers are known for their maximum precision, with which they approach every tested genre and film being prepared. In True Grit, this can be seen in every aspect, whether it is the casting, prop selection, the well-crafted screenplay, and above all, traditionally high-quality directing. This film is a return to the traditional western, which experienced its golden age about 60 years ago and has been rather languishing in recent decades. Precisely because it is a return to the roots of the respective genre, there are no major surprises and it is not a modern genre variation like Dead Man or Dances with Wolves. This is a classic battle of good and evil, tough men and wilderness, where law and justice are far from what we imagine in today's courtrooms. However, it is rawer, less romantic, and somewhat more sober than the famous films of the golden era. Furthermore, the presence of a stubborn girl who stubbornly seeks to avenge her father's death and bosses around the gunmen brings important lightness to the film. It is unnecessary to highlight other film elements, such as the camera or music because in the case of the Coen brothers they always work perfectly. Overall impression: 80%. If I were a fan of the genre, I would not hesitate to give it 5 stars. (06/06/2011)

An old, one-eyed sheriff whose best friend is a bottle full of whiskey, a determined ranger dressed in a ridiculous suit, and finally a 14-year-old girl with a tongue sharper than a razor who lost her father and wants revenge. This totally disparate trio come together to hunt criminals. What came out of that?! A pretty solid Wild West flick that mixes action, humor, and good old fashioned western. The cast was terrific (newcomer Hailee Steinfeld vs. veteran Jeff Bridges), the audiovisual execution was engaging, and the script was peppered with a lot of wit. (01/29/2011)

Maybe I need to apologize to the Coens or something. I saw True Grit in the movie theatre some time ago, wasn't too impressed, gave it three stars, praised the actors, Deakins and Burwell, complained about the lack of originality, that it was not in the Coens’ style, and the weird epilogue... That was it. But today I watched the DVD, and the complaints are almost gone. I don't know why that is. Maybe I already knew what I was getting into beforehand, and I wasn't expecting what I was expecting before the movie theatre screening, so I enjoyed myself. True Grit suddenly had great momentum and, in addition to the "execution", "hanged man", "Indian children" and "dentist" scenes (the latter especially), I was suddenly appreciating everything in between. Suddenly I found myself smiling for two hours, and at the end I was moved like a little boy. Just that epilogue, though... (09/22/2011)

One great piece of Western poetry smelling of gunpowder, beans and tears. The film, which is perhaps most reminiscent of No Country for Old Men in Coens' pedigree, but with its humility towards genre conventions and absolutely brilliant work with the central triangle, creates a very pleasant and warm place of nostalgia and melancholy for the old dusty times of heroism. (02/15/2011)

The Coens are good storytellers and true lovers of film as a craft, you can feel it from every single frame. Westerns are tricky because it's a different era and it's not what it used to be. Today's audiences want to see more explosive Transformers rather than legends of the Wild West. But the directors have approached it in a relatively modern way, with a significant dose of brutality, spiced up with plenty of tomato ketchup. The grumpy Bridges is excellent, Hailee Steinfeld in the lead child role is absolutely charming, as well as Barry Pepper's rotten teeth. A film without compromises and classic western grit. On par, that's the right word that this piece evokes for me. (07/09/2011)