Truly Great!

Ok, first of all, I am going to confess that I needed to see this soon because the Coen remake is coming out very soon and I just needed to see the original version first and, quite frankly, I am really glad that I did because I am not entirely sure that I can see the Coen version beating this one (as awesome as they are). I am not really a big fan of western films because I always feel that they are the same with very similar characters, stories and backgrounds with almost no differences but I have to admit that True Grit is perhaps the most basic and straightforward western that I think I have ever watched.


The murder of her father sends a teenage tomboy, Mattie Ross, on a mission of "justice", which involves avenging her father's death. She recruits a tough old marshal, "Rooster" Cogburn, because he has "grit", and a reputation of getting the job done. The two are joined by a Texas Ranger, La Boeuf, who is looking for the same man Tom Chaney for a separate murder in Texas. Their odyssey takes them from Fort Smith, Arkansas, deep into the Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma) to find their man.


Admittedly, I hadn't been a strong admirer of John Wayne's before I saw this because I had only watched one of his films before this one but now after watching True Grit, I really like him now and seek to watch more at what he does best: as a badass character in westerns. I absolutely loved Rooster Coghurn's character because, yeah he may like a bitter old veteran but he is still a guy with feelings so there is like a clash between a cold-hearted man and a gentle man. When Rooster, Mattie and La Beouf were on their quest to find Tom Chaney, Rooster was almost acting like a father figure towards Mattie which did comfort her and that made the film seem a bit warmer. John Wayne fully deserved his first and only Academy Award in True Grit. I cannot wait to see Jeff Bridges portray Rooster in the Coen Brothers remake. Kim Darby was brilliant as Mattie Ross! I think most of you reading this will laugh at what I am about to say: I actually thought it was a young man when I first saw Kim as Mattie; like a James Dean sort of person. Anyway, her performance was intriguing because we see the innocence and heartbreak of a young girl but at the same time, the viewers watching begin to get this feeling that during her quest to find Chaney, she is slowly being dragged to a low level that will bring out the worst in her. She was robbed of an Academy Award nomination as well but it definitely is a great breakthrough performance from her. Glen Campbell was pretty awesome as La Beouf as well and I was impressed with Robert Duvall's supporting role as Lucky Ned Pepper. A great underrated role before The Godfather, The Godfather: Part II, Apocalypse Now amongst others.


Like every single western that I have watched, True Grit was filmed beautifully but Henry Hathaway and other crew members of the film have bought out a western that is obviously a load of fun with lots of gun action scenes and suspense but also some quite psychological segments too. Admittedly, I hadn't seen anything from Henry Hathaway before until now but, just like with John Wayne, I am now going to start to watch more films from Hathaway even though it'll be tough for any of his other films to beat this one for me. After watching the original True Grit, I now realise that this would make a typical Coen film and I can't wait to see that version too especially when that one has earned a stronger response than the original version.


Overall, True Grit is an extremely underrated western that I absolutely loved from start to finish. As I said, it is a very straightforward story but does go quite deep in terms of characters and what is happening or might happen. Despite the remake has had better reviews, it'll have to do really hard to beat this one! I think I am going to have to watch the sequel of this called: Rooster Cogburn starring John Wayne, of course, and the legendary Katherine Hepburn. I would definitely call True Grit one of my favourite westerns of all time. Just brilliant!