True Grit (2010) - A remake worth seeing

True Grit (western, drama, adventure)

Directed by Ethan Coen and Joel Coen

Starring Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Hailee Steinfeld and Josh Brolin

Paramount Pictures | 2010 | 110 min | Rated PG-13 | Released Jun 07, 2011

Video:

Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC

Video resolution: 1080p

Aspect ratio: 2.35:1

Audio:

English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

French, Portuguese, Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1

Subtitles:

English, English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese

Discs:

50GB Blu-ray Disc

Digital copy

DVD copy

The Film 4.5/5

True Grit was nominated for 10 Oscars, but failed to win any. Jeff Bridges was unlikely to win after finally being recognized a year ago, but Roger Deakins (cinematography) and Hailee Steinfeld (supporting actress) were particularly unlucky to lose.

I’m generally not in favor of watching remakes, or Westerns, but this one is worth it. The Coens don’t make bad films. The acting is superb and there’s just the right balance between action, drama and humor.

The story is narrated and told from the viewpoint of Mattie Ross (Steinfeld), a 14-year-old girl who wants to hire someone to catch the man who killed her father. After hearing the qualities of the potential candidates, she approaches Rooster Cogburn (Bridges). He’s a one-eyed drunk with a reputation for getting the job done. Perhaps she wanted someone with the same strength of character as her own?

One of the best scenes in the movie comes early. Mattie argues with a horse trader, wanting compensation for a horse of her father’s stolen while under the trader’s care, as well as a refund for four ponies her father bought. This is where we see that Mattie, although young, is intelligent and capable of looking after her interests. The trader meets most of her demands and is relieved to see her leave.

Cogburn’s character is revealed when he gives evidence in court. It’s clear that he’ll kill if necessary, and that he thinks it’s often necessary. After another negotiation, Mattie secures his services to search for Tom Chaney (Brolin), her father’s killer.

The other main character is LaBoeuf (Damon), a Texas Ranger who has been tracking Chaney for another crime. He wants to team up with Cogburn as both have the same goal, but they are unable to convince Mattie to stay behind and the trio end up together.

The dialogue doesn’t follow that of traditional Westerns. The characters are generally well-spoken and intelligent and don’t use contractions. This has the effect of making the dialogue sound formal and more important. Some of the accents are thick, but you’ll soon get used to it.

After an argument with Cogburn, LaBoeuf departs and leaves Cogburn and Mattie to fend for themselves. They look for shelter and find a shack occupied by two men. Cogburn finds out some valuable information to aid the search and learns that Chaney has joined a gang which is due to arrive at the shack. Cogburn and Mattie hide and wait for them to show up.

LaBoeuf later rejoins the pair and the main action occurs when the trio meets the gang. Mattie proves her worth and both Cogburn and LaBoeuf have important parts to play in the conflict. Cogburn is not always drunk and proves very capable when the situation calls for it.

While not as quirky as other Coen films, True Grit contains plenty of humor. The dialogue is fast and the wits of the main characters are sharp. Each has some memorable lines. There isn’t a huge amount of action. It’s more about the setup and the dynamic between the trio. We see more of the journey than the eventual confrontation. It has the effect of making the story well-rounded and there’s enough background information for us to feel like we know the characters by the end of the movie.

The conclusion jumps forward 25 years and we are shown what happens to the characters. It's a good way to end the story.

Video Quality 5/5

The Texas and New Mexico locations look stunning in this presentation and colors are bright and well-defined. Fine detail is exceptional and you can clearly pick out patterns in the dirt and see individual pieces of straw. Grain is barely visible in the majority of scenes, but there’s no loss of detail. Paramount has delivered a wonderful transfer and I can’t think of a better-looking live action movie.

Audio Quality 5/5

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track also shines. Whether it’s horses galloping, insects, wind or gunfire, everything sounds the way it should. What really impresses me is the depth of sound in quieter scenes. There is so much detail. The excellent dialogue is well-defined and there’s nothing to fault in the audio presentation.

Special Features 3/5

There are just over an hour of additional features on the release and all are in full HD:

Mattie’s True Grit (5:13) – Telling the story of Steinfeld’s audition, her preparation for the role and working with the Coen brothers.

From Bustles to Buckskin – Dressing for the 1880s (8:02) – Interviews with the costume designer and some of the cast.

Colts, Winchesters & Remingtons: The Guns of a Post-Civil War Western (4:41) – Explaining the choice of guns used by the main trio.

Re-Creating Fort Smith (11:20) – Showing how the set was put together.

The Cast (5:25) – Interviews with Bridges, Damon, Steinfeld, Brolin and Barry Pepper.

Charles Portis - The Greatest Writer You've Never Heard Of (30:54) – An extensive look at the career of writer Charles Portis.

Cinematography (2:57) – Roger Deakins talks about some of the shots in the movie.

Trailer (2:33)

There should be an Oscar for best Blu-ray presentation. True Grit would certainly be nominated. If you’re a fan of the film, you’ll be delighted with the whole package. The crew researched the time period thoroughly and the result feels authentic. I would recommend this even if you’re not a fan of the genre.

Overall score 4.5/5

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The Way Back: A tale of human endurance

The Way Back (drama, history, adventure)

Directed by Peter Weir

Starring Ed Harris, Jim Sturgess, Colin Farrell and Saoirse Ronan

Image Entertainment | 2010 | 133 min | Rated PG-13 | Released Apr 22, 2011

Video:

Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC

Video resolution: 1080p

Aspect ratio: 2.35:1

Audio:

English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1

Subtitles:

English SDH, Spanish

Disc:

Single 50GB Blu-ray Disc

The Film 3.5/5

The Way Back is the story of an epic journey and the determination of the human spirit. Peter Weir (Dead Poets Society) directs and gives us an inspirational tale of hardship, perseverance, and what it means to be free.

I wouldn’t normally suggest this, but it’s a good idea to skip the first chapter of the film. Those first two minutes and 15 seconds contain two things: a list of credits explaining which studios were responsible for making the film and a brief text-only prologue. The prologue reveals too much of the story. It explains how many people survive the journey, their gender and where they walk to. The film still works, but I think it’s better to view it without knowing those details. It was presumably done to pay tribute to those who made the historical journey. You won’t miss a single frame of the film if you skip it.

The story opens with an interrogation sequence in which a Polish woman is made to inform on her husband, Janusz (Sturgess). He’s sent to a Siberian prison camp as a result. The year is 1940; a time when Stalin and Hitler were trying to conquer various parts of Europe.

Janusz meets a variety of prisoners, but we aren’t told much about their origins. Because of this lack of exposition, it’s difficult to tell one prisoner from the other at the start of the film. They dress the same and are similar in appearance. The guards are confident that nobody will escape because Siberia is a snowy wilderness and surviving under those conditions is next to impossible. Janusz wants to try anyway and assembles a group willing to make the attempt.

We meet Mr. Smith (Harris), Valka (Farrell), Zoran (Dragos Bucur), Tomasz (Alexandru Potocean) and Voss (Gustaf Skarsgard). The prison scenes are subtitled for the most part, showing us that the party of escapees comes from several nations. It’s a brutal existence and one man is killed for his sweater. The escape party trades for what food is available and breaks out of the camp, evading pursuit by armed guards and dogs.

The group has a vague plan based on where it thinks the camp is located. Conditions are harsh and blizzards are frequent. There are mountains in every direction. Some of the group hallucinates at times, but six people survive long enough to set off on the journey. After a while, it’s clear that they are being followed. It turns out to be Irena, a young Polish girl (Ronan). She claims that her parents are dead and wants to join the group.

The remainder of the film is devoted to showing the journey. Terrain varies from freezing snow-covered mountains to open desert. Food and water quickly run out and the group is forced to live off the land. Their footwear isn’t up to the task and most of the party has to deal with walking on blistered feet with open wounds. Dialogue is sparse and we never learn much about each character. The story becomes a dour struggle for survival.

When the story of the journey is coming to a close, we are shown a montage of historical footage dealing with the collapse of communism. It brings us out of the 1940s and as far as 1989. The final scene is the most uplifting in the film and ties up a loose end.

I won’t say any more because, as I said at the start of the review, too many details ruin the suspense.

Weir’s film is well-acted, epic in scope and ambitious. The actors must have had a hard job adjusting to the different conditions as many scenes were shot on location in extreme cold or searing heat. The story deserved to be told. The thing is, the lack of character development doesn’t give us much to care about other than the general survival of the group. 

Video Quality 4.5

Russell Boyd’s cinematography looks incredible on Blu-ray. Some of the scenes showing mountains or desert dunes are breathtaking. The transfer does justice to the film and detail is good throughout. The opening gulag scenes are deliberately drab and muted, but the brightly-lit scenes during the journey are filled with detail.

Audio Quality 5/5

The dramatic score sounds wonderful on this DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix, but the highlight is the use of ambient sounds. Whether the scene involves mining, a blizzard or a sandstorm, you’ll feel like you are there. More subtle sounds are also evident. While some of the accents are heavy, the track reproduces them clearly.

Special Features 2/5

With the exception of a theatrical trailer, there’s just one feature:

The Journey of the Journey (30:57) is a brief account of the problems faced during filming and includes comments from Peter Weir and the principal actors. It was interesting to see how some of the effects were produced, as well as discovering which countries were chosen to depict the ones used in the story. It’s well worth a look if you are curious about the film. The low score is for the lack of additional features.

There are one or perhaps two characters with enough depth to make us care about them individually. The story held my interest and I admire some of the previous work from Weir and the four main actors, but the film is flawed. The focus is on the journey, but there’s not enough background, exposition or character development to fully engage the viewer emotionally.

I would suggest this as a rental as its replay value would be limited for some.

Overall score 3.5/5

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