In light of the above, I'm a bit taken aback by all the comments stating how their latest film, the Western remake "True Grit", which features the above elements, is their most audience friendly and straightforward work. If "straightforward" here means that one thing leads to another in the film, then yes, it is straightforward. But sometimes it seems as if "straightforward" is meant to mean "simple" or "plain", and that is patently incorrect. Along with these statements are implications of how their film is a conventional, if well written, embodiment of recognisable genre iconography.
Bah. I never thought that one could make a Coen movie sound "conventional" but that's what some people would have one believe. Actually, "True Grit" is another 'clearly Coen' film; the brothers have taken stock characters and a vengeance-based plot and turned it into something profound. Mattie Ross (Hailee Steinfeld, who commands this film front and center) is a fourteen year-old girl looking for her father's killer, a man she believes goes by the name of Tom Chaney (a greasy Josh Brolin). She has the will but not the way to get him herself, and so she employs (though that may not be the best word to describe this transaction) a US marshal called Rooster Cogburn (a character made famous by John Wayne and immortalised by Jeff Bridges). They are sometimes aided in their quest by Laboeuf (Matt Damon), a Texas Ranger who's been on Chaney's track for some time and looks forward to apprehending him. (Steinfeld and Bridges are superb.)
Looking at the above plot description, the film does sound "straightforward", so let's get the "straightforward" qualities out of the way. There are landscape shots captured by legendary Roger Deakins. There's a shoot-out. Men are tested by the elements, their own internal weaknesses and by their companions, with whom they nearly inevitably butt heads. However, there is more to the film than those genre indicators. For instance, the landscape shots only appear some time into film, and are not used as an initial establishing device as most Westerns use it. And the action, when it happens, is always bound to the points of view of key characters, and in one instance the action is brutal and abrupt.
There is what one might call "character development" for one character, while another completely subverts the notion. In addition, there is a scene where Mattie and Rooster expect a familiar face to appear, and when this does not happen and they face instead someone that seems half animal, Rooster's reply is priceless. This moment - with the character's placing in the middle of the frame instead of somewhat to the side - is pure Coen ingenuity.
"True Grit" thematically addresses the idea of doing what has to be done, doing the right thing, sometimes against great odds and at great cost. Still, as the opening and closing shots make clear, "True Grit" isn't just a Western with outlaws, lawmen and beans around the fire. It is a celebration of the genre and trappings. The opening shot seems at first to be a movie frame fluttering into sight and then reveals itself to be a memory from a long time ago. This evokes not only the narrative content that opens the film, but also makes us aware that we are watching a type of movie that went out of fashion a long time ago (at least at the box-office) yet never goes away completely. In a goosebumps inducing final shot, the filmmakers display their love for the genre as much as the movie characters with just enough respect and sentiment.
"True Grit" is the best Western since "Unforgiven" and was nominated for 10 Oscars.
(I thought that "No Country for Old Men", another type of Western, was the best film of 2008, and I listed "A Serious Man" in my top ten of 2010.)
1 comment:
Have been thinking about seeing this, and now after your review, I will. I have a confession though...I'm not a fan of No country for old men. Maybe it's something that will grow on me.
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