True Grit (2010)

For my review of the 1969 classic, click here

What It's About:
In the 1870s, 14-year old Mattie Ross (Hallie Steinfeld) travels to the town where her father was killed - Fort Smith, Arkansas - and hires a whiskey-drinking US Marshall (Jeff Bridges) to bring the killer (Josh Brolin) to justice. The two are joined by a Texas ranger LaBeef (Matt Damon) and they all travel through the wilderness on horseback to find the drifter.

My Take (some spoilers ahead):
I was really looking forward to seeing this movie ever since I saw this awesome trailer ---

If they gave Oscars for Best Trailer - this one should win, hands down!! And I was not disappointed when I saw it on opening night. Jeff Bridges really is the perfect choice I think to play this character. I wonder if he ever met John Wayne through his dad; I'm thinking that Lloyd Bridges and Wayne did some pictures together, but I can't think of any at the moment. Will have to look this up.

I don't think it's unfair to call this 2010 movie a "remake" of the original. That's what everyone is calling it. The directors of the new film, Joel and Ethan Coen, would like us to believe that this a retelling of the novel. It is, but I'm sure they watched the original film at some point, and thought to themselves how they can improve. My library had a copy of the original novel, so I was able to read through and compare some of the parts with the written page.

Hallie Steinfeld and Barry Pepper, both deliver
Oscar-worthy performances

The scenes in the new film play out in almost the same order as the first film, with a few minor dramatic liberties.

If you've seen the first movie, much will be familiar - LaBeef spanks Mattie after she crosses the river on Little Blackie, just like in the first film, and Cogburn still calls him a "brushpopper". Jeff Bridges doesn't say, "She reminds me of me" but you know he's thinking that. And the iconic climax still has Cogburn taking the reins in his teeth, charging up against Ned Pepper (Barry Pepper) and three others (just as the book describes). I even wondered if this scene was filmed in the same field as the '69 film. It wasn't; it looks just like it.

The Coens add some interesting new elements with this version, which was co-produced by Steven Spielberg. They cast an age-appropriate actress for the part of head strong Mattie, and Hallie Steinfeld is very impressive. I'd like to see her get nominated for an Oscar. Barry Pepper is also excellent, as is the rest of the supporting cast.

John Carradine?

There are a few new interesting characters in this version, including a snoring "Grandma Turner", who we don't get to see in the original. There is also a medicine man who seems to be channeling the great character actor John Carradine. I really enjoyed these new elements, and was expecting such from a remake/retelling.

We also get to see an older version of Mattie (Elizabeth Marvel) at the end, and we learn that she loses her arm (it's not just broken like in the 1969 version). This ending is faithful to the book. LaBeef lives in the end, just as it's written (he dies in the '69 movie version).

I only wish the final scenes lasted a bit longer; the ending seemed to go by very fast after the final climatic sequence. I would have liked to have seen more scenes with this older Mattie character. In fact, I imagined what this story might be like as a 3 or 4-part TV miniseries. Seriously. If the Coens can add a bearskin-clad medicine man character and make him entertaining, why not have Cogburn and Mattie meet some other characters along the way? Show some flashbacks of Cogburn at the Green Frog. Bring back General Sterling Price, the cat!

Some of my favorite parts of the older movie - the scene in Chen's store and the dinner scene in the boarding house - are not in the new film (though the set designers did put in a deck of cards near Cogburn's bed). I recall reading a magazine article where the Coens said they didn't want to slow the film with scenes they felt were unnecessary. That must have included any scenes with Mattie back at home talking with her father before he gets killed.

Sideburns alert! With this outfit, you'll
think Matt Damon just stepped out of a
1960s western and into this picture!

A few things bothered me about the new version, but they weren't enough to spoil my enjoyment of the picture. For one, Bridges' mumbling is hard to understand at times. When this comes out on DVD I'll have to watch it again with "Subtitles: English" turned on. One of my friends thought he was channelling the "Karl Childers" character from Sling Blade.

Also he doesn't say how he lost his eye like in the first film (if he did, I missed it through the mumbling).

Another scene that struck me in a negative way was when Blackie dies and Cogburn goes to pick up Mattie - to me it almost looked like he was going to rape her, which would have been a bit of a disturbing deviation from the original story; thankfully that's not where that went. Also I thought Cogburn would have dropped dead from a heart attack after all that running and huffing and puffing after Blackie dies. The original movie showed them on a wagon for much of the way back, which is more faithful to the book.

In both films, Mattie watches a public execution / hanging in the beginning. In the book, several white men and one Indian is hung, and each of the three give their last public words. The 1969 does not feature any their last words nor the Indian. The 2010 version keeps the Indian and the last words of the two white men, but the last words of the Indian are "not allowed"; a black sack is placed on his head before he can say anything. But according to the novel, the last words of the Indian are: "I have repented my sins and soon I will be in heaven with Christ my savior. Now I must die like a man." Because this was eliminated, I'm not sure if the Coens were trying to express a message about the racism of the time, or to avoid the Christian testimony - which may have confused audiences - or both. Several people laughed at this scene, perhaps thinking this was Coen Brothers' dark humor at work.

Seems like both movie versions were trying to avoid some sort of controversy and failed to be faithful to the novel during this hanging scene.

I think if you liked the original movie, or if you just like westerns, you will enjoy this picture.

The music score by Carter Burwell is wonderful. It's a shame he is ineligible for an Oscar, simply because some of the arrangements borrow a few bars of the song "Leaning on the Everlasting Arms", which is my favorite Gospel hymn.

I found some samples of the tracks online. These are from great moments in the movie:




This is "Little Blackie's" (Mattie's horse's) theme. This is played when Mattie goes to the stable:

This is the music played during the climatic "Fill Your Hands!" scene. Very exciting!

Read an essay comparing both films by Entertainment Weekly's Owen Glieberman

Tender Mercies (1983) and Crazy Heart (2009)

Note #1: There are some "spoilers" in this double-review.

Note #2: This is the last in a two part series on alcoholism (yesterday's review was Mad Wednesday)

So, just a few weekends ago, Jeff Bridges won his first Oscar for "Crazy Heart" which has been generating alot of buzz for months. Reviewers continue to draw comparisons to the 1983 classic "Tender Mercies" starring Robert Duvall as "Max Sledge": both movies tell the story of famous (although fictional) country stars who want to leave music behind, but just can't quit. And both have their share of demons, including the bottle.

My main interested in seeing "Crazy" was to find out if it is just an imitation, which they say is the sincerest form of flattery. So last weekend, I went to a local neighborhood theater to check it out. It was a matinee, so the price of admission was thankfully only five dollars. I was expecting alot of "aw, come on" similarities between this and the older, Bruce Beresford-directed film. And sure enough, it did have them. Here is my checklist:

• Washed up and broke country singer (check)


• Still has legion of fans (check)


• Sought after by reporter (check)


• Meets single mother and falls for her and the kid (check)


• Attempts to reconnect with his long lost kin (check)


• Tries to sell some of his songs while trying to keep up with the latest in country music (check)


• Puts down the bottle (check)

Also, I was surprised to find out that it also features Duvall himself in a supporting role as the fishing buddy of protagonist Bad Blake, played by Bridges. Bad Blake travels through the southwest alone in his truck looking for bar gigs in between drinks. One night while he's onstage, in the middle of a song, he excuses himself to go out in the alley to puke in a garbage can, only to return to the stage with a stained shirt and slurred voice. His behavior is that pathetic, and it only gets worse later on. I'd say for much of the film, it's very much a story about a trash talking alcoholic singer who is pretty much winging it through life; it's not until the very end of the film - and his closest relationships end - that he starts to sober up and look ahead to a more promising future.

As co-producer, Duvall obviously found alot to like in this film. As I was watching it, I was looking for that, and even imagined this film as a "sequel" of sorts to "Mercies", and seeing his supporting character as an older version of Mac Sledge. It's hard not to think that; in one scene he encourages Bad Blake: I know, I've been there before.

"Crazy Heart" was based on a 1987 novel, and directed by first-time director Scott Cooper, a supporting actor who's had mostly bit parts over the years. But he does get a very good performance out of Bridges, whose character is hard to like.

The best part of the movie is the music. I love country music and loved all these songs, and I was convinced that these were real hits by this former star. There is a young rival, played by Colin Farrell, who is obviously modeled after pop-country star Keith Urban. Even though Bad Blake is of the Kris Kristofferson generation (Bridges even resembles him a bit) he finds time to sing on stage with the younger act; in one exciting scene they both play to a sold-out crowd in a huge ampitheater. You feel like you're at the concert.

"Crazy Heart" has even been compared with "The Wrestler"; there are some scenes where Bad Blake has a few close calls, and I became convinced that he only has a few years to go. It ends with him happy with his career and new life, even though he's still alone.

"Tender Mercies", written by the late Horton Foote (who won the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay) is a film that tells a different story. Max doesn't struggle with drinking throughout the duration of the film like Bad Blake. In the very first scenes, he has already begun to settle down with his new family and has quit drinking. Max finds comfort in his renewed faith, his new family, and his music; he's sought after again by record companies and bands, and he has to deal with it all, especially the musical success of his ex-wife (Betty Buckley), also a singer. All of the main characters are very self reflective throughout, which I think makes this film the classic that it is. Life - and making peace with oneself - is one main theme; death - and it's meaning - is another. Another good performance in this is by the underrated actor Wilford Brimley, who was in lots of 1980s hits, including Cocoon (I think he should have won the Oscar, not Don Ameche). And the young actor who plays Max's stepson Sonny is so good; I was surprised to learn that this was his only film. Sonny never met his real dad, who may or may not have been killed. But he learns to love Max like a father; the ending scene stays with you for a long time and is an inspiring, tender if you will, moment on film. I didn't want this movie to end. With "Crazy Heart", I was glad it was over, I must say. My friend and I left the theater saying to each other "haven't we seen this film before"?

In closing, I highly recommend the 1983 movie, and highly recommend the CD of "Crazy Heart" if you like country music.

BONUS:

Here are the best songs from "Crazy Heart" (they should have been nominated for Oscars):