True Grit (Original)

Hello, movie lovers! Some of you may have read Andrew's recent post on the remake of a western classic, True Grit.  Also, Hopefully, some of you have had a chance to check out the remake because it's definitely worth a watch.  After I read Andrews post I decided to do a review on the original True Grit, starring John Wayne.  Let me just tell you in advanced that the original is just as good, if not better, than the remake.

True Grit, is the first movie I've seen starring John Wayne.  Honestly, I didn't even know what he looked like until, I searched his name on google, two minutes into the movie.  The plot of the story revolves around a young woman, Mattie Ross (Kim Darby), who is trying to find the man, Tom Chaney (Jeff Corey), that murders her father, and bring him back home so they can hang him.  For her first move she hires U.S Marshal Reuben "Rooster"J. Cogburn (John Wayne), referred to by many as a man with "true grit", to find and bring in Chaney.  Mattie and Rooster then later team up with a Texas Ranger named La Boeuf (Glen Campbell), who is also searching for Cheney, to help capture him.

I found Wayne's acting to be very intriguing.  Rooster is a one eyed, unwashed, fat old man whose dynamic persona is a mix between a man who is a ruthless alcoholic, and a man with good intentions. Somehow he blends this mixture into a character that appealed to me.  I also enjoyed how all of the actors in the original have an exaggerated and animated way of acting, especially Kim Darby's character.  This movie came towards the tail end of wayne acting career and showed he could still make a good movie late in his life.  He played the role of the hero again in the film, which is only appropriate.

Mattie Ross is a smart, funny, and determined young woman who drives the whole movie.  Her animated acting and pesky presence allows her to find a route around many of the problems she faces throughout the movie.  She strikes a deal with a horse owner to get a horse for the journey by outtalking him.  She is also the only character in the movie that Rooster seems to really care for.  I thought Darby was funny in most of her scenes.  She talked with energy and action, which is why her character draws much attention throughout the movie.

Campbell, the Texas Ranger, is probably the weakest actor of the three.  His role in the plot is necessary but the acting was a bit too much- over exaggerating his acting in every one of his scenes.  Also, throughout the movie there are these comic jabs thrown at the texan from Rooster and Mattie, which made me wonder why they hated the texan so much?

Director Henry Hathaway uses great camera in this movie.  He moves from these close shots of the actors, to widescreen shots capturing the environment.  However, there was one scene when Mattie and Rooster were camping that looked completely "Hollywood".  It looked like the background was a black cloth, and you could see the fire because the camera was in a close shot of the character's faces.    

I have to say that I was not disappointed watching True Grit, in fact I liked it enough to check out a couple of more of Wayne's films.   If you have never seen the original True grit, but have seen the new one, you should still check it out because the acting of both Wayne, and Darby will keep you entertained throughout.

4 out of 5 stars

True Grit

           

I’m often skeptical of Western Movies. I didn’t grow up with the manly man gentlemanly but still lone wolf don’t need no help gotta do whats right Clint Eastwood John Wayne people. I don’t feel the same nostalgia that my father and uncles seem to salivate over when they reminisce about John Wayne kicking ass and riding off, or when Clint whips out a really unnecessary and absolutely not standard issue weapons and proceeds to write his own laws in bullet holes. True Grit (2010) is my kind of Western, the good kind of Western.

           

            In short Mattie Ross (Hailee Stienfeld) is the young, but doesn’t act like it, tough and fiery girl that looks to hire an old, in every sense of the word, US Marshal Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) to track down and kill her father’s murderer, Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin). And all of them play unique and authentic characters that grant weight and emotion to the film. Jeff Bridges is not a glorified Old West cowboy with that elegant sauve and Jame Bond swagger. He sports and old, dirty, patch beard and above it a worn out eye patch and you can tell just how he smells from the clothes he’s wearing. The one eyed former marshal is a stubborn drunk. Jeff Bridge’s character drags around like any man would if his life consisted of riding miles on horseback just to shoot some people, to get shot back at, to never have a real place that is home, to only own one set of clothes. It’s the real western enforcer, not the prettied super cowboy.  

            That dusty dirty drunken Cogburn is up against the straight, “just to watch it burn” kind of evil that I always compare to the Joker from Batman. The no respect, no loyalty, sometimes no motive, unadulterated evil that exits simply because it can. Josh Brolin’s character only earns any props from me just for how well he plays the role. And there is also Matt Damon’s character, LaBoeuf, the Texas Ranger after Chaney for other reasons but who teams up with Cogburn although not to either of their likings. The two battle each other on the road as we learn of the history of these two gunslingers animosity for each other.

            This story of the old souled and unshakable young girl alongside two unlikely and unfriendly heroes to take down a truly devilish man is a must watch. It’s a story of revenge, wit, growing and of course, grit.

4 out of 5