True Grit

True Grit
Watched: January 29th 2011

I have not been exposed to enough Westerns to know how this fits into the genre. I have not seen the original nor have I read the book. My overall opinion was outstanding performances, great visual effects, good fight scenes, slow story, and really slow story. Jeff Bridges was absolutely excellent as Rooster Cogburn, though his slurred speech sometimes made me flashback to "the Dude". Bridges had a fantastic character to work with and he played the emotions well while delivering wonderfully witty one-liners. His banter with Matt Damon's character, a ridiculous but skillful man named LaBoeuf, is entertaining throughout the movie and almost hides the fact that the movie is rather dead without it. Newcomer Hailee Steinfeld plays the overconfident, eloquent, and daring Mattie Ross with a degree of genuineness that is stunning for her age. However her stubborn and humorous moments are far stronger than her dramatic ones. The film does present its themes in a way that makes the audience ask the questions: How far do you go? Does the end justify the means? What is revenge worth?--Valid questions that are difficult to contemplate, but there is plenty of time to do that in the scenes that drag. Nominated for 10 Academy Awards in both technical and acting categories, True Grit is certainly one of the best films of the year. Though not the strongest contender it still packs a punch and should be seen.