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RE: "True Grit:" nothing special. For the first time in memory, Bridges gives a

Posted by Jazz Inmate on December 27, 2010 at 22:58:44:
>> He should send Billie Bob Thornton a piece of his check because he copied the speech mannerism from Billie's character in, "Slingblade." <<

You need to go see Slingblade again. Bridges didn't sound a thing like Thornton.

>> Not a surprise in the film. Not a memorable shootout. <<

Two immediate examples that prove you wrong: the determination of the girl in her dialog with the horse seller and the violence erupting in the cabin. There was plenty going on to keep you on your toes.

>> Damon's interaction with the irascible Cogburn isn't clever, witty, or entertaining. The young girl, however, is memorable. <<

The Coens were going for a realistic depiction of an older, more experienced gunslinger juxtaposed to a younger marshal seeking cash more than anything else. It's called character development and as usual, you'll probably need to see this a few more times to get the nuances of the dialog.

>> "Unforgiven" set a bar very high for Westerns and, surprisingly, this effort comes up way, way short. <<

Totally meaningless comparison. Unforgiven was an "anti-Western" that flipped the hero and villian roles by making the ruthless outlaw switch places with the lawful sherriff. True Grit was an exploration of just that: determination and righteousness.

>> Both are revenge plots involving young women hiring "over the hill" lawmen. <<

No, no no. Eastwood's character in Unforgiven was hired by some young buck who couldn't shoot straight and had no belly for what needed to be done. The "young women" in that film were whores, not an innocent child who insisted on riding out to find her father's killer. One gets the impression that Unforgiven is the only other western you've seen. That doesn't make it worth comparing to True Grit; if any Eastwood film is, it's Pale Rider, but even that makes for a fairly meaningless comparison.

>> A successful Western needs a well-drawn, terrible villain. In TG, we don't meet the under-utilized Brolin's character till the 3/4s mark and then he's still a minor character. <<

No, he had built suspense and his mere presence alone with the child was chilling. Maybe the Coens are too subtle for you; you need to be hit over the head with bad guys and shootouts like a little boy.

>> The plunge/rescue down the "hole" seemed tacked on, ridiculous. The horse-ride, similarly, was poorly conceived and executed. <<

Are you kidding? The snakes had tremendous realism. And the way the injured girl saw the stars during the rush back had an almost spiritual flavor.

>> Now, don't get me wrong: I was thoroughly amused throughout. But when one goes to a Coen Bros. film, such as "No Country," one experiences art. This time, set your bar lower. They did. <<

If you failed to see the artistry in True Grit, you might as well get your brain and eyes removed. You're done.