Pastor Jeremy Stephens

True Grit

Last night I had the chance to see the midnight premiere of the Cohen Brothers’ True Grit.  Being a pastor and this being one of the two busiest weeks of my year, that was really the only chance I had to go see it.

I like westerns in general and I’ve always enjoyed John Wayne movies.  From Stagecoach, to The Quiet Man to The Shootist, I feel like I spent most of my boyhood Saturday mornings listening to the slow drawl of The Duke.  That being said, I never thought his Oscar-winning role as Rooster in True Grit fit him.  He was always the man in white—it was odd to see him in grey.

In this updated version, Jeff Bridges replaces Wayne.  Whether you’re a Bridges fan or not, he is ideal for this role and gives a stunning performance.  It seems as though Charles Portis wrote the book with him in mind all along.  Even with that, his role seems secondary to that of the lead actress, Hailee Steinfeld.  She is downright brilliant and, in my opinion, makes the movie great.  The reality is, however, that the entire cast is perfect.  Even Barry Pepper (I will always remember him as the sniper in Saving Private Ryan) is flawless in his small role.

The movie itself feels far grander than any western I remember.  Hollywood began shooting westerns on location back in the 30’s with the hope of demonstrating its vastness, but it never seemed as wild and beautiful as it does in this movie.  The cinematography is beyond gorgeous.  This movie feels as though it’s the Western that John Ford always wanted to make.

In general, I love the Cohen Brothers’ work and this movie is no exception.  Some of their movies, despite the exceptional writing, are gory and vulgar (i.e. No Country for Old Men, Fargo and The Big Lebowski) and I half expected that to be the case for this one.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that this wasn’t the case for True Grit.  It certainly earned it’s rating, but was nowhere near what I anticipated.

In all, it’s fun, beautifully shot, moving and often laugh out loud funny.  It’s everything I could hope for in a Christmas-release Hollywood blockbuster.