True Grit (2010)

When this movie first came out in 2010, I was very excited to see it. I was and still am a fan of the Coen brothers as well as two of the stars of the film Jeff Bridges (The Big Lebowski, Tron) and Matt Damon (The Bourne Identity, Good Will Hunting) . For what ever reason I couldn't find the time to go see it. Much to my surprise as I was going through Netflix I saw this movie sitting in the Newly Added section. Without hesitation, I hit play and started watching it.

The movie is about a girl played by Hailee Steinfeld (She's a Fox, Grand Cru) whos father was killed by a member of a gang. She enlists the help of a stubborn marshal played by Jeff Bridges to lead her into Indian territory to help her find the man who killed her father.

I am not normally a fan of child actors and actresses. I feel like most of the time they just don't end up working that good in movies. So, I was very surprised when I found myself enjoying Hailee Steinfeld's acting throughout the entire movie.

True Grit is a character piece who's plot is primarily propelled by the dialogue between characters. This means that to fully understand the movie, you have to pay attention. There are also very few gun fights. The lack of gun fights may be a strength of the movie though, because it makes the few times guns are used much more powerful. It is a slow paced movie that may not be for everyone.

If you are the type of movie watcher that doesn't mind a slower paced movie, than I would highly suggest True Grit. While it wont get you adrenaline pumping with amazing action scenes, you will grow very attached to the characters.

As of writing this (1/6/12) True Grit is available to stream through Netflix.