True Grit

Coen Brothers' True Grit is one of the highest quality gems cinema has ever seen. It tells the simple story of Mattie Ross, a 14-year old teen played excellently by Hailee Steinfeld, on a mission to find Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin); the outlaw who killed her father. She recruits a U.S. Marshal named Rooster Cogburn, portrayed marvelously by Jeff Bridges, and off we see them go on this little journey.

There are only a handful of films you could regard as filmmaking textbooks, and this right here is one of it! From a screenwriting standpoint, just look at how every scene has an arc. Every scene has a main character helming a goal that locks into a direct conflict with an opposition before arriving to a result for the plot and characters to move on. By adhering to this simple rule, most of the scene turns out to be extremely interesting! Courtroom hearing, Cogburn proving he doesn't miss a shot, cabin interrogation with Moon's (Domhnall Gleeson) fingers being chopped off, waiting on track pursuer, LaBoeuf (Matt Damon) ambushed by the Pepper gang as Cogburn and Mattie watch over from above, 1 versus 4 field standoff plus the argument about ponies, horse and saddle are solid gold! Although Mattie falling into the pit is an unneeded extension towards the end, but without it, we would have missed a lifetime of an opportunity to witness the following from happening - Cogburn's relentless horse ride with Mattie by his side during the climax accompanied by Carter Burwell's magnetic score will go down in history as one of the greatest scenes ever shot.

The dialogues are snappy and most of the scenes are very funny in classic Coen Brothers way! Cogburn kicking children off the porch is the highlight! Mattie is a memorable and likeable protagonist! She's brave, independent and, like the theme of the film - relentless! Matt Damon and Josh Brolin gave strong performances as well. Of course, it goes without saying that the cinematography, production design and again, the background music are top tier stuff!