True Grit has, quite justifiably, been Oscar nominated for outstanding achievements in directing, writing, acting, sound, costume design, make up, art direction and cinematography. It's technically stunning to the point where it feels like it was made specifically to win awards. If you look closely you can even make out a Hollywood heavyweight playing a character with a disability in a fondly-remembered genre set in a legendary period of US history. Only a couple of important boxes remain unticked:
Yet despite all the technical brilliance on display, True Grit doesn't really resonate as its pedigree suggests it should. Maybe it's the fairly straightforward revenge / road movie storyline that holds nothing new or exciting. Maybe it's my attitude to westerns generally (it's not a patch on Back To The Future Part III). Or maybe it's because I couldn't work out what Jeff Bridges was on about half the time because it sounded like he was gargling marbles.
I've said it
before and I'll say it again: I miss the old Coen Brothers.
oh you do make me laugh!
ReplyDeleteI love BTTF 3. Unashamedly.
ReplyDeleteI have been worried about the voices in this movie ever since I saw the trailer where everyone (except Hailee Steinfeld) seems to be speaking with the exact same mumbly tone. I'm still looking forward to it by may just pull my excitement down a notch or two. I also love the Coen's old stuff too but can accept that they can do something out of their usual style from time to time.
ReplyDeleteIt's a little harder for them to be off the wall with this one when it has such definite roots, both in the novel and the classic beloved John Wayne movie.
I've never seen BTTF 3. Isn't it like the first one, only with big hats and trains?
ReplyDeleteI agree, because I was expecting something incredibly great, but instead I just got something that was OK. Good Review!
ReplyDeleteI've seen True Grit twice with increasing pleasure. I loved the scenes where Jeff Bridges & Mat Damon try to out do each other to impress Steinfeld. It was played as if the characters knew they were part of Western mythology even as they were living it. This is a rare example of a remake being better than the original in 1969.
ReplyDeleteVery nice blog, I've been looking for something like this :] I subscribed!
ReplyDeletehttp://mattgaimz.blogspot.com/
Nice to see Jeff Bridges, Steinfeld, Damon, and Brolin have a great time with this movie.
ReplyDeleteThe movie doesn't take itself too seriously. Even though people are being killed or maimed in this "violent" western, the directing and the characters and their hygiene make the old west seem like a broadway musical (without the singing and dancing of course).
Damon's character is a douche and I love it