True Grit (2010)

True Grit Review

From the directors of movies such as No Country for Old Men, The Big Lebowski, and Fargo comes a movie called True Grit. Wait, did you say "from the directors of No Country for Old Men, The Big Lebowski, AND Fargo?" It ALSO currently holds a 95% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes? This True Grit must be one amazing movie!

2 Hours Later.

What a let down. Dare I say it, but True Grit was kind of...boring.

For those of you who don't know, True Grit is a movie about a young girl who hires a U.S Marshal to track down the man who murdered her father. While it doesn't sound like a boring premise, it gets dull pretty fast when there are long stretches of the movie where the main characters are traveling by horse and pony. There's also too much talking, if I may be so crass.

Sometimes Jeff Bridges' character has something funny to say, that is, when you can understand him. There are also some great bits of dialogue that come out of the young girls quick-witted mouth, like when she haggles stubbornly with a man with whom her father had previously made a deal with. But there's too much talking when I start zoning out of peoples' conversations and start waiting for the next scene. And no, I'm not some brain dead 11 year old who only wants to watch things blow up; but that doesn't mean that I'm entertained by a movie when two thirds of it are either horse-traveling montages or excess dialogue that I don't feel are necessary. 

As most people have already said, Hailee Steinfeld (the young girl) delivers a strong performance - as do Bridges, Damon and Brolin. When Steinfeld's character is first introduced she comes off as a sharp yet stubborn little girl. At first I was charmed by her character, but then she outstayed her welcome and I started getting really annoyed with her fast-talking and overly clever dialogue. Is it bad that I actually sympathized with Damon's character when he started spanking and whipping her?

Let me note that there are some very good, though few, action scenes scattered across this movie. In particular the last act is very entertaining. Unfortunately though, the movie ends with a very unsatisfying and hurried conclusion - which I won't spoil.

I am very disappointed to be giving True Grit just three stars. All signs indicated that this may have been one of my favorite movies of 2010; but just like Black Swan, this movie was hugely overrated. It was praised so high when in reality it's just an average movie albeit a movie by the Coen brothers.

3 out of 5 stars