True Grit Surprisingly Unimpressive

Maybe it was inevitable. After absolutely loving No Country For Old Men, perhaps there was no avoiding a letdown with my next Coen Brothers film viewing. It really doesn't matter wondering in the end. The simple fact is that I was unimpressed. It may even be safe to say that I was almost uninterested as well.

I was interested in seeing True Grit. The early buzz I heard was positive, with plenty of praise for Jeff Bridges' turn as Rooster Cogburn; there is no denying that he was entertaining as the eccentric US Marshall. I was even pleasantly surprised by Hailee Steinfeld's performance as the young, yet determined Mattie Ross! I think that is why it was so surprising to me that with two strong leads, great directors and an intriguing premise it just felt so bland as a final product. It just didn't deliver for me.

Now I must admit that I have not seen the original version starring John Wayne, so it isn't that I am comparing it to that. No, the Coen's version just felt hollow somehow, as if the recipe of great ingredients just didn't gel. The tense moments never really felt tense, the punch was missing from dramatic moments and the action didn't stir any bit of excitement in me. To be perfectly honest, I found the final confrontation to be rather boring. I just didn't connect with these characters, despite the capable performances that were delivered (except for Matt Damon whom I just found distracting somehow).

Even as I write this review I keep wanting to like this film more, but I can't. Normally if I don't rate a film high I will really delve into the things that I didn't like and flesh them out and explain why I didn't care for it. With True Grit I can't really do it because there wasn't any one thing was technically bad. It just wasn't fun and at the end of the day, that counts for as much as anything. The phrase I keep using to describe this film to friends is "filmmaking by numbers". If you have a coloring book and you stay inside all the lines and the colors are well chosen, the final product may be technically well done, but it still isn't true art. In the case of True Grit, I think it was the "grit" that was missing. 6/10