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CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Dan Baker on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on March 21st, 2024, reviewing the new streaming series “Manhunt” – based on the bestseller by James L. Swanson – currently streaming on Apple TV+.
Film Review: Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon Ride the Lonely Plain of ‘True Grit’
Submitted by BrianTT on December 22, 2010 - 5:16pm
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Continue reading for Brian Tallerico’s full “True Grit” review.
“True Grit” stars Hailee Steinfeld, Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Barry Pepper, and Josh Brolin. It was written and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. It is rated PG-13 and opens on December 22nd, 2010.
True Grit
Photo credit: Paramount Pictures
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CHICAGO – “True Grit” seems like the perfect project for Joel and Ethan Coen; something they had been working toward their entire career. Not only had they made what could be considered a modern Western already in “No Country Old Men” but they were to bring together The Dude (Jeff Bridges) and Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) under the magnificent lens of the great Roger Deakins. It nearly had to be a masterpiece.
 Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
“True Grit” is no masterpiece. It’s a good film that’s nearly great and absolutely worth seeing but the Coen’s cold detachment hurts them with this project more than any other in their career. This enormous fan of not only the Coens but Westerns and nearly the entire cast and crew of this piece so wanted to love “True Grit,” and so it’s somewhat disappointing to say that I merely like it. I understand why people will fall head over heels for it but my feet stayed firmly on the ground.
| Read Brian Tallerico’s full review of “True Grit” in our reviews section. |
The movie, which is more loyal to the book than Henry Hathaway’s 1969 Oscar-winning John Wayne-starring feature, tells the story of Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld), a 14-year-old girl looking for vengeance for the murder of her father. The film opens and closes with Mattie and she’s in nearly every scene of the film and yet Steinfeld is somehow winning Supporting Actress awards for the role. It’s nonsense. Jennifer Lawrence in “Winter’s Bone” similarly plays a young lady looking for patriarch-related justice and merely because she’s a scant few years older, and doesn’t have Oscar winners opposite her, she’s widely-recognized as the lead in that film. Steinfeld’s Mattie Ross is the lead of “True Grit.” It’s her story.
And that story really starts when Mattie hires “Rooster” Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) to find the man (Josh Brolin) responsible for her father’s murder. They also cross paths with an unrefined Texas Ranger named LaBoeuf (Matt Damon) as they head into Indian Territory and battle mother nature, wildlife, and a deadly gang led by Ned Pepper (a great turn from Barry Pepper) as they search for vengeance, justice, and mere bounty. Everyone in “True Grit” is there for a different reason but they eventually form a codependent team as Mattie, Rooster, and LaBoeuf each play a significant role in the action.
Continue reading for Brian Tallerico’s full “True Grit” review.True Grit
Photo credit: Paramount Pictures
