True Grit (2010)

A stubborn teenager enlists the help of a tough U.S. Marshal to track down her father's murderer.

Directors:

Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

Writers:

Joel Coen (screenplay), Ethan Coen (screenplay)

Stars:

Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Hailee Steinfeld

Nominated for 10 Oscars. Another 37 wins & 153 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jeff Bridges	...	Rooster Cogburn
Hailee Steinfeld	...	Mattie Ross
Matt Damon	...	LaBoeuf
Josh Brolin	...	Tom Chaney
Barry Pepper	...	Lucky Ned Pepper
Dakin Matthews	...	Col. Stonehill
Jarlath Conroy	...	Undertaker
Paul Rae	...	Emmett Quincy
Domhnall Gleeson	...	Moon (The Kid)
Elizabeth Marvel	...	40-Year-Old Mattie
Roy Lee Jones	...	Yarnell
Ed Corbin	...	Bear Man (as Ed Lee Corbin)
Leon Russom	...	Sheriff
Bruce Green	...	Harold Parmalee
Candyce Hinkle	...	Boarding House Landlady

Storyline

Following the murder of her father by hired hand Tom Chaney, 14-year-old farm girl Mattie Ross sets out to capture the killer. To aid her, she hires the toughest U.S. marshal she can find, a man with "true grit," Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn. Mattie insists on accompanying Cogburn, whose drinking, sloth, and generally reprobate character do not augment her faith in him. Against his wishes, she joins him in his trek into the Indian Nations in search of Chaney. They are joined by Texas Ranger LaBoeuf, who wants Chaney for his own purposes. The unlikely trio find danger and surprises on the journey, and each has his or her "grit" tested.

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Plot Keywords:

revisionist western | reference to new mexico | spanking threat | public hanging | dragged by a horse | 

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Taglines:

Punishment comes one way or another

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | Western

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some intense sequences of western violence including disturbing images

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [France]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 December 2010 (USA)

Also Known As:

True Grit

Filming Locations:

Jamaica

Box Office

Budget:

$38,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$24,850,000, 26 December 2010, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$171,243,005

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$252,276,927

Company Credits

Production Co:

Paramount Pictures, Skydance Media, Scott Rudin Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Many of the firearms in True Grit are replicas from the Italian gun maker Aldo Uberti Company. Using replicas is a common practice in movies. The original manufacturers' pistols, rifles, and shotguns in True Grit are antiques that are over a century old and do not have the availability required by movie property managers. Replicas are exact copies that look newer (not worn and antique) and thus match the appropriate time frame presented in the movie.

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Goofs

At the beginning of the movie (2:49) as the train pulls into town you'll notice there is only 1 train track, the one the train is on, rails on wooden ties with no platform under it. Cut to 3:03 and there is now a second track visible next to the train with wood crossing platform around it, and the train is on a modern set of tracks with cast concrete crossing plates are the track. In addition as the camera pulls back and down it is clear that the ground below the camera is paved black top. This town was ahead of its time.

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Quotes

[first lines]
40-Year-Old Mattie: People do not give it credence that a young girl could leave home and go off in the wintertime to avenge her father's blood. But it did happen. I was just 14 years of age when a coward by the name of Tom Chaney shot my father down and robbed him of his life and his horse and two California gold pieces that he carried in his trouser band. Chaney was a hired man and Papa had taken him up to Fort Smith to help lead back a string of Mustang ponies he'd bought. In town, Chaney had ...

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Crazy Credits

Buster Coen, Ethan Coen's son, is listed in the end credits as "Mr. Damon's abs double". In reality, he was an on-set assistant to the script supervisor.

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Connections

Referenced in The Graham Norton Show: Matthew McConaughey/John Cena/Hailee Steinfeld/Jamie Oliver/Mark Ronson/Miley Cyrus (2018)

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Soundtracks

TALK ABOUT SUFFERING
Traditional

User Reviews

Simply just a really solid piece of storytelling with good work across the board

I wasn't sure how to take the news that the Coen brothers were remaking the John Wayne film True Grit and I remained unsure even when it was clear that they were not so much remaking the film as making a different version of the original book. How would their humour and oddity sit in this story, how would their normal arch cynicism and cleverness work here? Well in reality it doesn't really come into play because they have made a film that is surprisingly free of that side of their work while also containing just enough in terms of characters and dialogue to make it their own. Mostly though what True Grit does is deliver an enjoyable story in an engaging and satisfying manner.

While I don't agree with IMDb observer-in-chief tedg's overall rating for the film, he is correct when he says that the western as a genre has really been thoroughly explored and it is hard to bring freshness to such a film. The Cohen's struggle with this a little bit because it doesn't feel like "their take" on a genre so much as it does just feel like a western full stop. This perhaps limits them in terms of their own style but it does mean that they are focused on the telling of the story rather than anything else they may have added for colour. The end result of this is that the film is actually a really solidly told story that perhaps doesn't soar or have flamboyance or colourful touches but it does still engage as a tale. The story will be known to those familiar with the Wayne film but the slant very much onto Mattie makes it feel like a different story, albeit with much familiar about it. It is well told though and I found myself engaged by it just as much as I was never really thrilled by it. It has heart in its main character, it has a forward motion and it has a nice touch of humour throughout.

The key to it is the performance from Steinfeld. She may well have been put forward for Supporting Actress in a political move by the studio but she is the heart and soul of this film. Her performance makes her Mattie a stubborn youth but one with juts enough vulnerability about her to suggest some of it is a front to cover herself in this regard. While she never struck me as a person that would exist within this story, she did convince me as a character and she was a delight to watch – this is her story and she makes it such. This puts Bridges in the supporting role and he is great there, having fun with the role and adding colour to things. Damon underplays wisely – sparking nicely off Bridges but letting these two having the light. Brolin, Pepper and others all deliver solid turns without stealing anything. Perhaps aware of what the genre is best known for (the landscapes) Deakins is restrained; where he made art with Jesse James, here he focuses on the smaller moments – the light from a campfire, the falling of snow – and he captures them excellently. At some point he will win his Oscar – maybe this is it but certainly his body of work cries out for it.

True Grit is not quite the brilliant piece of work that the "for your consideration" campaign would have you believe but it is a great piece of storytelling. The Coen brothers deliver some fine dialogue and colour but leave the telling free of cynicism or snideness (not a word, but you know what I mean). The story engaged me and is only made better by the strong pair of performances in the lead – but particularly Steinfeld, who makes this film in the same way that Portman made Black Swan this year.