True Grit (2010)

Gwang Lee's rating : 7.2 / 10.0

I hear you're a man of true grit.- Mattie Ross speaks to Rooster Cogburn


A U.S. Marshal helps out a smart young to avenge for her father's death. That's a basic story line of this movie. I heard that it is based on the novel but I haven't gotten a chance to read the book, so this review is just about the movie. No judgement upon how well it reflected the novel.

First of all, I couldn't resist not watching this movie, since Matt Damon was in the movie. It could be TMI, but I watch almost every single movie of him. Yet, he has never disappointed me. You must be a spy from North Korea if you haven't heard of Bourne Identity. Therefore, I had a big expectation on this movie, too. Too much.

We love western style movies. A real man riding a horse to the endless horizon where the sun sets at. In that perspective, True Grit, somehow, satisfied me. True Grit released me into a vast field of Western, and it displayed some classic sceneries and costumes from the nineteenth centuries.

I just love how the people dressed up in the nineteenth centuries

However, I was disappointed at the lack of vivid personalities of characters. I think Mattie Ross was supposed to be a girl who was eager and bloodthirsty to find out a man who killed her father; however, she was illustrated as just a young girl who was extremely intelligent. Her intelligence was quite a distracting point throughout the movie. However, I give an applause for the effort of a young actress. 

Mattie Ross seeks for avenger of her father's death

Then, LaBoeuf, a Texan officer, disappointed me again (I say it was the first time Matt Damon disappointed me). Until the end of the movie, I couldn't figure out the importance of LaBoeuf in the movie. He was illustrated as a man who consistently quit in conflicts instead of trying to solve the problem. Consider LaBoeuf was shown as a determined, brave officer, his character was dramatically changed throughout the movie. However, I could see Matt Damon has worked hard to visualize the personality of LaBoeuf. It was just too hard and vague

Officer LaBoeuf (Matt Damon)

However, Rooster Cogburn, saved this movie and all the staff from making less money than they invested. Thanks to Jeff Bridges for his effort! Rooster Cogburn, a U.S. Marshal, was a main assistant for Mattie's avenger and he cared after Mattie throughout the movie; and this image appealed some different aspect of Mr. Cogburn in this movie. Though his external personality was a man who was careless and cold-heart, Jeff Bridges displayed Rooster's internal personality, such as his carefulness, thoughtfulness, so well throughout the movie. 

Overall, there was a disappointment in the personalities of characters, and the ending was creepy as well.  However, I do not discourage you from watching this movie. It certainly is a classic movie, and you will find some sentimental moments between the scenes. I would call it for a family movie over break, but not a good movie for a dating! Enjoy!