Review of True Grit (2010) by Bob B — 28 Jun 2018

Im late to the game in writing this movie review, but I must say that the movie does live up to the hype!

The story line moves along in a very straight forward and simplistic style. Its a classic heroes tale in the wild west. SO what makes this movie so damn enthralling?

Well our characters of course! We are immediately pulled in by Haley Seinfeld as Maddie, a strong, stubborn, naively courageous girl on the search for her father's killer. Her educated tongue, her adult-like manner, feel contemporary in a setting far more rigid and outlandish. Our US Marshal Cogburn is a more typical western cowboy; a rough around the edges drunkard who understands the workings on the anarchic west, but who has a soft stop for our outlandish protagonist. Finally, we have our Texas Ranger LaBouef, a man who holds himself to a higher moral, with strong views of the world, others, and himself.

Watching these characters interact feels unimportant. The simplistic nature of the film really hides how much these characters change from start to finish. This is where I think the beauty of the film really shines. The Cohen brothers are masters at making these characters that shouldn't fit in to the wild west, fit right in. For starters, our protagonist is a 14 year old girl! And the viewer is able to accept this fact because we watch Maddi struggle and fight for her right to join on the man hunt. We see a texas ranger with an air of sexism and biggotism, that by the end of the movie, we admire for his moral compass and respect for Maddi. We have a drunkard who makes no attempt at improving himself at all.

The strangest thing for me was how human our villains were. Maddie shoots Tom Channey off the bat, reminding us that he is no evil villain, he is just a man. We have Channey's team of outlaws treating maddi with a certain level of respect, insinuating there is sore form of hierarchy in the group. Throughout the film, these villains are made out to be the worst of the worst, people willing to kill for no reason at all. In the end, they are shown for what they really are; human beings. Though all of these villains are killed at the end, they felt much less dangerous in reality than they were in stories.

In addition, hidden within this plot is a a weaving of feminist occurrences hat fly under the radar. We have our main character, maddi, successfully kill the villain. This is huge, as our two detectives have been hunting for channey for years. We have our two men by the end of the film, treating our main character with respect and dignity, even as a 14 year old girl. This is a dynamic unseen in most western films other than (name that movie from CIMS101). The magic is in the Cohen Brothers ability to make these hugely feminist and weird themes feel completely normal in the setting of the wild west.

Finally, we have our ending. The killing of Tom Channey. This victory was IMMEDIATELY brushed over as Maddi falls in a pit and is poisoned by a snake. Suddenly, right when things feel calm and "peace" SHOULD be restored, were off to the races! In saving Maddi's life, her success, and the success of the team, is completely overlooked.

I feel uncertain as to why this decision was made. Why did maddi have to fall in the pit? Why did she have to lose her arm? Why were the three unable to say any form of a good bye?

It feels as though Maddi is being punished for what she had done. A possible statement about women attempting to be more in society? She lost an arm, her horse, her friends, and we see that she never marries later on. Could this all have been the result of attempting to do too much? The ending feels very much like thelma and Louise; A powerful victory for women that in the end winds up in defeat.

On a more personal note, I found the dialogue of the film to be a true wonder to listen to. Though Tom Channey speaks with a more barbaric tongue that fits the status quo of the West, LeBouef and Maddi bring educated tongues with them on their journey. Another oddity that the Cohen Brothers seamlessly intertwine in their movie without raising any suspicion.