True Grit: Coen Brothers Newest

[Wiggs Dannyboy]

Oh....sorry Freeze...

Oh....sorry Freeze...

Then count me in. Heck, count me twice! I've been singing their praises since the debut of Blood Simple. Directed towards anyone else, idiot plot would be a slam but, it's the Cohen's meat and potatoes and they do it brilliantly. Nearly everyone in Blood simple, Oh Brother, Big Lebowski, Fargo, etc, is a complete moron and that's the magic of it all. Just how low can they go on the intelligence scale and still fascinate you?

In the hands of anyone else, you'd have a bad Jerry Lewis film. With the Cohen's, it's art.

Didn't mean to get your goat. I'm a huge fan. Just having a hard time wrapping my head around Rooster Cogburn holding up a bullet and saying, "You know, for kids." But, if anyone can do it, Joel and Ethan get my vote.

Oh, I misunderstood what you were saying. Now that you explain your use of the word "idiot," it makes sense. And I agree, the Coen's definitely dwell in the world of the doofus.

I think I'm just extra sensitive to the word idiot, my mom loved using that word on me when I started breaking rules.

Carry on!

 

[FreezerBoy]

S'ok. I certainly could've explained it better. It's a hollywood term like romantic comedy or costume adventure. It simply means the only way for the plot to play out that way is if all the characters are idiots. I'd never use it to describe the brothers Cohen as creators. Glad we're cool.

 

[headiez247]

Just saw it.

Fucking awesome.

Jeff Bridges is the man and the little girl is great in it too.

Totally worth seeing.

 

[Stoner4Life]

I'll wait for it to be released on DVD I think as I only go to 2-3 movies a year, if I hear from my fav sources that it's a real good flick I'll buy it before even watching it.

the movies I prefer to go to the theater to see are ones like Avatar that really benefit from being seen on 'the big screen'.......



EDIT:
btw, the reason I only go to a few movies a year is that the theater is 44 miles from me round trip which is a lot better than the 78 miles it used to be before they built a new theater only 22 mi away. living in the country can suck sometimes, nearest sushi is about 120 miles from here, closest quality pizza is way over 200 miles south of here. sheeeesh.

 

[ThePizzaMan]

looks awesome, and I am far from a western fanatic. The way they direct and tell stories....they are truly in a league of their own.

Good to see JB back as well. He really is making a big name for himself.

 

[Wiggs Dannyboy]

Hey Headiez...

Good to hear the report. Did you already mention how you managed to get such an early viewing?

 

[headiez247]

btw, the reason I only go to a few movies a year is that the theater is 44 miles from me round trip which is a lot better than the 78 miles it used to be before they built a new theater only 22 mi away. living in the country can suck sometimes, nearest sushi is about 120 miles from here, closest quality pizza is way over 200 miles south of here. sheeeesh.[/B]

Wow, you truly are rural. I'm so jealous. I hate the city.

Hey Headiez...

Good to hear the report. Did you already mention how you managed to get such an early viewing?

the family member I live with works in the industry so he gets invited to a lot of premieres/screenings.

Saw The Fighter a few weeks ago. Also very good. Christian Bale is going to win best supporting actor for his role, for sure.

But ya True Grit was great. The humor in it is AWESOME. Some really funny lines.

 

[Wiggs Dannyboy]

You're a lucky dude, Headie.

Here is a review I found:

True Grit

Jeff Bridges handily reinvents the iconic role of Rooster Cogburn in the Coen brothers' back-to-the-book remake.

By Peter Debruge

It's hard to imagine bigger boots to fill than the ones that earned John Wayne his Oscar in "True Grit," and yet Jeff Bridges handily reinvents the iconic role of Rooster Cogburn in the Coen brothers' back-to-the-book remake. Though the sibs return things to the perspective of vengeance-bent 14-year-old Mattie Ross, all eyes are definitely on Cogburn. Rather than a case of the Dude doing the Duke, Bridges' irascible old cuss is a genuine original who feels larger than the familiar saga that contains him. Awfully gritty for its PG-13 rating, this characteristically well-crafted outing could draw a wide range of audiences, ranking among the Coens' more commercial pics.

The story of a righteous young woman (played by unknown Hailee Steinfeld, her plain-faced scowl framed by a pair of girlish braids) who enlists the help of the meanest, toughest lawman she can find to track down her father's killer (a pitiless Josh Brolin), "True Grit" fits the bill of properties that film purists would rather leave untouched. But in many ways, Henry Hathaway's film was already old-fashioned by the standards of late-'60s Western storytelling (made all the more apparent when Sam Peckinpah's bloody "The Wild Bunch" opened one week later in June 1969), and is therefore ripe for retelling.

What that original film offered was a revolutionary depiction of a frontier teen assertive enough to handle her own finances, trade barbs with a pair of surly bounty hunters and avenge her father's murder, even if it meant staring down the varmint herself -- themes that reflected shifting gender roles at the time of its release.

While the Coens significantly expand Mattie's role, scrubbing away all sentimentality in the process, the character's independent nature feels significantly less resonant 40 years on. No matter, the Coens are strictly apolitical filmmakers whose interest in the material lies not in exploring gender-related themes; rather, Charles Portis' novel poses the opportunity to add another entry to their gallery of regional and period-specific portraiture, a career-long obsession that spans a wide range of genres, while remaining laser-focused on capturing the vernacular and mannerisms of the characters involved.

Portis makes a logical target, considering his ear for authentic dialogue and wry wit, with "True Grit" offering a choice opportunity to attempt their first authentic Western (a far different beast in tone and energy from the 1980s-set "No Country for Old Men"). The Coens show their appreciation for Portis' prose by hewing close to the language of his novel, evident from Mattie's tone-setting opening narration to the colorful barbs she trades with her two traveling companions -- the second being an indignant Texas Ranger named LaBoeuf (rhymes with "the chief"), sincerely yet self-deprecatingly played by Matt Damon.

But the brothers also severely rein in the humor, which the book offers in spades -- a curious call in light of the often-satirical undercurrent in their other films. What comedy does survive exists primarily between Bridges and Damon, whose characters are constantly undermining one another in Mattie's presence. Since the broad strokes of the story are known by most, the Coens are free to indulge in serious character investigation. And yet, one major, inescapable carryover from the 1969 film can be found in Cogburn's age -- like Wayne, Bridges is a good 20 years older than the 40-ish character Portis imagined.

In keeping with the novel, Steinfeld's Mattie is a plain, almost homely girl (characters frequently joke about her stern, unladylike features) whose unrealistic sense of justice doesn't jibe with the untamed wilderness of the Choctaw Nation, where her trek unfolds. Though the Coens tone down Mattie's Scripture-quoting sensibility, her dispassionate view of violence matches the directors' own, which makes for several unflinching displays of Wild West punishment -- and a return to the book's tough-luck epilogue.

The film's heavily styled language feels distancing at first, not unlike the heightened dialogue in HBO's "Deadwood," with the actors' drawling delivery making some of the lines virtually indecipherable. Even without catching every word, the subtext of each exchange is clear, as when Mattie dickers with a horse trader (Dakin Matthews) for her late father's money, demonstrating that she can hold her own in a man's world.

In what surely ranks among the most peculiar introductions in screen history, the Coens set Mattie's first encounter with Cogburn through the wooden door of an outhouse, demystifying his character from the beginning, only to build him back up during the rather taxing trial scene that follows. Bridges pulls off a total physical reinvention, complete with whiskey-stained moustache, rotting underbite and trademark eyepatch. The actor seems to have absorbed the character into his very marrow, and though Cogburn seems perfectly set in his ways, the great pleasure of the film is watching how his attitude toward Mattie goes from patronizing to paternal over the course of their adventure.

As always, the Coens' support team help pull off the directors' ambitions, with Carter Burwell supplying a full-bodied reinterpretation of "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms" (the same hymn featured in "The Night of the Hunter") and Roger Deakins' widescreen lensing serving to de-romanticize the terrain and the characters themselves. For the most part, "True Grit" resists the unspoiled vistas we've come to expect from Westerns, favoring the craggy, unkempt terrain of Cogburn's face instead.

 

[headiez247]

Small world, funny you picked the review from Variety, my family member is connected to them very closely lol.

Variety, while the most popular and well read paper in Hollywood (and New York for that matter) when it comes to Film and Theater reviews, tends to ask its writers to use big works and sound "smart" but for the most part they get most of the ideas spot on.

I agree with this review, most important/relevant points:

The film's heavily styled language feels distancing at first, not unlike the heightened dialogue in HBO's "Deadwood," with the actors' drawling delivery making some of the lines virtually indecipherable. Even without catching every word, the subtext of each exchange is clear, as when Mattie dickers with a horse trader (Dakin Matthews) for her late father's money, demonstrating that she can hold her own in a man's world.

It takes a few minutes to get used to the dialog/accent but even when you can't understand everything, you know pretty much exactly what is going on which is truly a sign of good acting. And that scene with Dakin Matthews is fucking hilarious.

But the brothers also severely rein in the humor, which the book offers in spades -- a curious call in light of the often-satirical undercurrent in their other films. What comedy does survive exists primarily between Bridges and Damon, whose characters are constantly undermining one another in Mattie's presence.

This could be mis understood.
-The original book had a LOT of humor/wit/smart ass remarks.
-The original Film had very little.
-This newest version has the PERFECT amount. There are plenty of funny parts, and the funny parts are HILARIOUS. Everyone in the screening room cracked the fuck up at the humorous scenes/moments.

Bridges pulls off a total physical reinvention, complete with whiskey-stained moustache, rotting underbite and trademark eyepatch. The actor seems to have absorbed the character into his very marrow, and though Cogburn seems perfectly set in his ways, the great pleasure of the film is watching how his attitude toward Mattie goes from patronizing to paternal over the course of their adventure.

One of the best aspects of the film. Truly awesome.

Can't wait to get your guys take on it. As a film school grad with family in the business, I loved it and it was received very well among other people in the business, but obviously its the public opinion that matters.

Also little OT but The Fighter is coming out soon and if anyone is into a boxing movie based out of Boston (based on true story) its a GREAT movie as well. (I've been lucky with screenings recently lol- this week is Tron 3D which I'm not as optimistic about but we'll see) Anyway The Fighter is an amazing movie. Christian Bale will both get nominated AND win best supporting actor Oscar for it, I'll put money on it.

 

[Wiggs Dannyboy]

Wow...great post Headiez! You appear to really know your stuff, film school grad tells that story. Look forward to reading more of your opinions on other films. If you had the time (likely not) you could start a thread here where you discuss film and such, I'd be a regular visitor.

I've been looking forward to The Fighter as well. Looks good from the trailers I've seen. Christian Bale looks like he is wasting away from something.

 

[headiez247]

Ha thats not a bad idea. Def. see The Fighter, and ya Bale got some druuug issues in the movie haha.

 

[Stoner4Life]

wow, now with more Grit!

watched all the trailers and it sure looks to be edgier than the 1st.

 

[Wiggs Dannyboy]

Truly Grittier!

Nice tribute to John, wish he was still here.