True Grit

After No Country For Old Men which was like a Western, the Cohen brothers try their hand at actual western.

Haillee Steinfeld is the precocious centrepoint, setting her fathers affairs in order and seeking justice for his murder. The only sense she's a child in anything but form is conveyed by her treatment from adults.

Jeff Bridges is by turns hilarious and rivetting as the alcoholic deputy Marshall with true grit mumbling away as if missing a drink would harm him more than taking it. Don't be put off by the mumbling. If you pay attention and listen carefully it isn't so hard to follow.

Matt Damon is equally entertaining as Texan Ranger LaBoeuf gradually shifting from braggart to competent as his skills are called upon.

The story is nothing new in the Westwrn canon, indeed, John Wayne won an Oscar in Bridges role, but the wit shot through the script provides a nice counterpoint to the acts of violence and gives a nice rhythm to this surprisingly brief film. I loved it.

As an aside, i have since watched the John Wayne original and was pleasantly surprised how well it held up against the new one. Many of the best lines are here but the characters relationships are not so well developed and the atmosphere more anodyne being aimed at a family audience. Still worth looking up.