Directors: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
Cast: Hailee Steinfeld, Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon
Rating: **
The classic Westerner must appeal to American audiences for obvious reasons. It’s about their history, and celebrates emotions they relate to—a gun-toting bravado, the preservation of honour, a knack for business and a canny, street-smart way of living. Plus, the Cowboy accent, I’m guessing, is easier on their ears.
The effect it has on an Indian audience is what an angry-young man Amitabh Bachchan would have on an American audience. The natural connect is missing. That apart, the revenge plot, the good guy-bad-guy motif, and the eventual justice of the gun is a story that’s been told before.
Yet, what it manages to do successfully is put a woman, a 14-year old eccentric character (Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross) at that, where conventionally a man would be. She is the eyes of the film, and a thoroughly fascinating character. She subverts the concept of the ingénue—leaving the mourning to her mother back home in Yell County, she takes up the responsibility of going after he father’s killer. She can drive a hard bargain, roll a perfect cigarette and ride a horse across a swift river. Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges) is the man she hires—a veteran US Marshal with an eye patch and a high body count. Matt Damon as the Texas ranger La Boeuf, stands in contrast to the flawed whisky-drinking “fat man” of Cogburn.
Josh Brolin as the bad ass Tom Chaney has no introduction or back story. Off screen, he lends the film its motive. On screen, he appears briefly to fulfil his purpose of getting shot.
It pans out the way all Westerners do. A chase for the bad guys through a rugged landscape, gunshots along the way, and a final showdown where the outnumbered heroes somehow come out on top. The final act of bravery comes when Cogburn saves the girl who is bitten by a snake. The retribution (a theme stated on the film’s poster) is complete.
The 1969 version of True Grit is supposedly memorable for the charisma of a veteran actor, John Wayne. This literal retelling 40 years later isn’t the best Coen Brothers film I have seen. Their usual brand of wry humour and ability to reinterpret a genre is missing. But if it is remembered for anything, it should be for a sparkling performance by a newcomer.
-Sarit Ray
This review was originally written for gqindia.com (Click here to see...)
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