Few American filmmakers are as iconoclastic as Joel and Ethan Coen. With a name that has come to be synonymous with quirk and eccentricity, any Coen-produced movie is almost instantly recognizable within the first few moments, be it ""Blood Simple,"" ""Fargo"" or ""A Serious Man."" So it's all the more surprising that the famed directing duo would tackle a project based on the Charles Portis novel ""True Grit""—and even more surprising that, even with their classic style muted considerably, the results would produce another Coen brothers cinematic marvel.
Certainly part of this is due to the rather simple story at the core of ""True Grit,"" which does not allow for the madcap antics or highly taut tension of prior Coen brothers movies. All ""True Grit"" really encompasses is a simple revenge story featuring a young girl, Mattie Ross (newcomer Hailee Steinfeld), on a mission to avenge her father's murder with the help of the infamous Marshall Reuben ""Rooster"" Cogburn (Jeff Bridges). There is no labyrinthine plotting, just two characters out on the Arkansas trail, occasionally crossing paths with the vain Texas Ranger LaBoeuf (Matt Damon).
While this may not allow for the Coens to cover as much territory as they often do, it does provide ample opportunity for character building. The original 1969 film adaptation of ""True Grit"" is an average Western at best until John Wayne's iconic performance as Rooster Cogburn is factored in. Wayne took the reins of one of the juiciest roles he was ever given and converted it into a perfect conduit for his own persona, resulting in his lone Oscar win.
The Coen brothers and Bridges take the character in a much different direction, instead focusing on Cogburn's craggy haggardness and misanthropy, but filling out his personality with an underlying sense of competence. It's a performance that couldn't be further from Bridges' famous prior collaboration with the Coens in ""The Big Lebowski"" or, for that matter, his lead role in the current holiday blockbuster ""Tron: Legacy."" The role is a testament to Bridges' range as an actor as well as his attention to character detail.
But even more impressive than Bridges is the revelation that is Hailee Steinfeld. Befitting a character who is effectively the matriarch of her family at age 14, Steinfeld shows a level of maturity beyond her years. But it isn't the creepy, unsettling kind of maturity seen in performances from Dakota Fanning or other child actors whose talent outstrips their age. Instead, Steinfeld is smart enough to play off Mattie's confidence and bravado as a coping device, and it is her neurotic yet dogged determination that carries the film.
But in an otherwise standard Western, perhaps the most important Coen brothers touch is the film's most inspiring character: the setting. Not since ""The Searchers"" has the Old West looked this authentic while still maintaining its beauty. Here the credit must go to virtuoso cinematographer Roger Deakins, who deserves a much overdue Oscar for his work here after eight prior nominations but no wins. Deakins films the terrain with a rustic aura reserved for a classic adventure tail, but makes excellent use of shadow and contrast to help feature the at times shocking violence on display. In addition, Carter Burwell's score, inspired by 19th century hymns, give the film a firm sense of time.
Ultimately it all adds up to a surprisingly traditional film from two untraditional filmmakers. And while that may sound like selling out to some, true fans should be able to appreciate the Coen's latest effort as one of the best Westerns of the past 30 years. ""True Grit"" shows that not only is there plenty of room for the work of the Coens in cinema's mainstream, there is plenty of room for cinema's mainstream in the work of the Coens.
