by Thomas M. Pender
After seeing the Coen brothers’ remake of True Grit in the theatre, I immediately rented the John Wayne original, to get a good sense of the similarities and differences. I can say with delight that some things are the same and some are different, but all elements either matched or outshone the original!
First of all, I have to commit what I’m sure will be seen as a Commie Un-American act, and admit publicly that John Wayne, icon that he was and is, was no actor. Our man John played the exact same character in about one hundred films, without so much as flexing a single acting muscle. (Forgive me, Dad, but it had to be said.) Jeff Bridges, on the other hand, has played many diverse characters in the past few decades, and to his credit, he does not try to play Marshal Reuben J. “Rooster” Cogburn as John Wayne. Bridges, the much more capable of Lloyd Bridges’ acting sons, plays Cogburn with fire and slosh, which is exactly how a drunkard U.S. Marshal past his prime should be played.
The rest of the principle actors are just as outstanding in their abilities to breathe new life into existing characters. Matt Damon is playing LaBoeuf in this resurrection. Damon is a talented actor with good range, and therefore wastes no time at all in overshadowing the very wooden Glen Campbell. Campbell, who irritated Wayne to no end in the production of the original, was hired simply to record the title song and get it sold. Before he was hired, the producers considered Elvis Presley, so you can see where their heads were at, and acting skills were not a priority.
Kim Darby, who had a few acting credits to her name before Grit, also chafed Wayne’s britches as a whiny semi-decent actress. Mattie Ross is now being played by little-known Hailee Steinfeld, and she easily takes the reins from Darby.
The character of baddie Ned Pepper was wisely cast in both versions. Robert Duvall, who would later appear in The Godfather, Apocalypse Now and Tender Mercies, among many other achievements, did well as Pepper in the original. Character actor Barry Pepper does so well as the dim-witted antagonist, and is made up so well, that I didn’t recognize the actor until the film was half over! I mentioned in a prior column that Pepper is an underused gem in Hollywood, and I’m hoping his role in this big-budget Christmas release will lead to much bigger projects for him!
Main bad guy Tom Chaney, originally portrayed by Jeff Corey, is here fleshed out by Josh Brolin. I have seen Jeff Corey in several film and television productions of the late 1960s, and he is only slightly better than Wayne in his ability to emote and vary his characters. Brolin, however, has impressed me for years, both as heroes and villains, and he continues to impress with this role.
Behind the camera, I was pleased that the Coen brothers, Joel and Ethan, did not turn a revered Western into a . . . well, Coen brothers film. Known for writing and directing such outright weird tales as Blood Simple, Raising Arizona, Barton Fink, Fargo and No Country For Old Men, I was a bit worried when I heard they were piloting this remake. Quite frankly, I was afraid Marshal Cogburn would be riding a hippopotamus! My fears were eased early in the film. By no means a carbon copy, this remake does pay plentiful respect to its predecessor. Some scenes are added, some deleted, and others altered, but enough is untouched that the original story shines through, while the new telling is a beautiful new creature all on its own.
Love or hate John Wayne, Jeff Bridges or the Coen brothers, you will certainly find something enjoyable in this new film. My generation, and the younger generations behind me, do not get to enjoy a newly-made old-fashioned Western nearly as often as we should. I recommend you get out and do so now.
Rubber Chicken Soup 