True Grit -- non-spoilery review
I think I've seen more Oscar-nominated movies this year than any year previously.
In terms of where I'd rank them from most liked to least liked:
1. True Grit
2. The King's Speech
3. The Fighter
4. Inception
5. Toy Story 3
6. The Social Network
7. Black Swan
I've already posted about Inception here and I don't have anything to say about Toy Story 3 except that it made me cry (well, I'll come clean -- the freaking trailer made me cry). I'd like to try to post reactions to the others, but mostly I've been thinking about:
1. True Grit. A real surprise, because most of the Coen brothers' movies leave me cold. I can appreciate how well-made and well-written they are, but ultimately I find them too detached from the characters and struggles they depict, which in turn forces me, as the viewer, into this superior, distant inability to empathize with what I'm seeing.
Not so True Grit. I didn't see the first version with John Wayne (won't call it "original" since the Coen brothers have made clear this is not a remake) and I haven't read the book, but I'm meaning to do the latter. I've finally seen a Coen brothers movie which affected me deeply, but I sort of doubt it was due to anything they created.
Mattie Ross is a character I want to get to know better, in her own words. (Especially in her words, since the wordy, literate dialogue -- much of it apparently lifted wholesale from the book -- was one of the best parts of the movie.) She's a brutally intelligent and confident 14 year old girl, played with surprising ability by 13 year old (at the time) Hailee Steinfeld, who with her Oscar nomination for supporting actress is also I believe one of the only people of color who got the acting nod this year.
The film is narrated by Mattie at age 39 or so, but I can't see that Mattie would have changed much, in terms of maturity, between 14 and 39. And actually, it makes one particular scene toward the end of the movie that much more affecting, because you see that she did have some innocence to lose, after all. This is not a bad thing. Rather, it makes Mattie one of the most fascinating female characters -- well, characters, full stop -- I've seen in a long while. She's essentially the head of her family, looking to avenge the death of the former head of her family (her father). She's a lone figure in the wilds who puts her faith in her ability to hire frontier justice despite her previous reliance on and judge-like knowledge of the law and order of statutes and Latin phrases. She's a civilized, modern creature already too advanced for her time, now seeking retribution in Biblical terms.
And, of course, she's trying to do so in a context completely dominated by men. The men in the movie are all colorful, well-acted characters, and Jeff Bridges of course has the showiest role as Rooster Cogburn, and he isn't John Wayne at all. But the movie knows the most interesting thing about these men is the way they interact with and relate to Mattie.
And then, ultimately, we're reminded that living on the frontier is lonely, that a person's life can intersect with and change another's, but that doesn't mean they stay intertwined. At the end of the film, after the unadorned narration of a few simple sentences, I ached for Mattie. And I wanted to get to know her better.
Anyway. It's a fucking good movie. Watch it.
In terms of where I'd rank them from most liked to least liked:
1. True Grit
2. The King's Speech
3. The Fighter
4. Inception
5. Toy Story 3
6. The Social Network
7. Black Swan
I've already posted about Inception here and I don't have anything to say about Toy Story 3 except that it made me cry (well, I'll come clean -- the freaking trailer made me cry). I'd like to try to post reactions to the others, but mostly I've been thinking about:
1. True Grit. A real surprise, because most of the Coen brothers' movies leave me cold. I can appreciate how well-made and well-written they are, but ultimately I find them too detached from the characters and struggles they depict, which in turn forces me, as the viewer, into this superior, distant inability to empathize with what I'm seeing.
Not so True Grit. I didn't see the first version with John Wayne (won't call it "original" since the Coen brothers have made clear this is not a remake) and I haven't read the book, but I'm meaning to do the latter. I've finally seen a Coen brothers movie which affected me deeply, but I sort of doubt it was due to anything they created.
Mattie Ross is a character I want to get to know better, in her own words. (Especially in her words, since the wordy, literate dialogue -- much of it apparently lifted wholesale from the book -- was one of the best parts of the movie.) She's a brutally intelligent and confident 14 year old girl, played with surprising ability by 13 year old (at the time) Hailee Steinfeld, who with her Oscar nomination for supporting actress is also I believe one of the only people of color who got the acting nod this year.
The film is narrated by Mattie at age 39 or so, but I can't see that Mattie would have changed much, in terms of maturity, between 14 and 39. And actually, it makes one particular scene toward the end of the movie that much more affecting, because you see that she did have some innocence to lose, after all. This is not a bad thing. Rather, it makes Mattie one of the most fascinating female characters -- well, characters, full stop -- I've seen in a long while. She's essentially the head of her family, looking to avenge the death of the former head of her family (her father). She's a lone figure in the wilds who puts her faith in her ability to hire frontier justice despite her previous reliance on and judge-like knowledge of the law and order of statutes and Latin phrases. She's a civilized, modern creature already too advanced for her time, now seeking retribution in Biblical terms.
And, of course, she's trying to do so in a context completely dominated by men. The men in the movie are all colorful, well-acted characters, and Jeff Bridges of course has the showiest role as Rooster Cogburn, and he isn't John Wayne at all. But the movie knows the most interesting thing about these men is the way they interact with and relate to Mattie.
And then, ultimately, we're reminded that living on the frontier is lonely, that a person's life can intersect with and change another's, but that doesn't mean they stay intertwined. At the end of the film, after the unadorned narration of a few simple sentences, I ached for Mattie. And I wanted to get to know her better.
Anyway. It's a fucking good movie. Watch it.