Movie: "True Grit"

Saw the remake of the classic John Wayne movie today. I was somewhat hesitant to see it becaue it's directed by the Coen Brothers, who tend to make odd, off-center movies (some are good, some not so good). I was afraid this would follow that pattern, but it doesn't. It's far and away their most straight-forward movie I've seen from them (their movies include Fargo, No Country for Old Men, Big Lebowski, Barton Fink, and others).

My memory of the John Wayne original is somewhat fuzzy, but this seems to be a faithful remake. I think the focus may be more on Mattie Ross, as she seems to have more scenes, especially at the beginning. But the actress playing the part is wonderful, echoing the toughness of the Kim Darby role years ago. Although sometimes her dialogue in this version seems a little too poetic at times. But overall, it's a great performance and likely to secure a supporting actress nomination.

Jeff Bridges as Rooster Cogburn doesn't make you forget John Wayne, but neither does he make you long for him either. He does just fine, neither adding or taking away anything John Wayne did. Matt Damon is much better in the role played by Glen Campbell, who was a terrible actor; definitely an improvement there.

As I said, I don't completely remember everything about the original, but certain scenes seemed to play out exactly as they did before (for example, the final 1 against 4 battle on horseback). The movie is rated PG-13, but foul language is minimal and although a couple bursts of violence, nothing too gory. Definitely worth seeing.