Written and Directed by Joel and Ethan Coen.
Rooster Cogburn: Jeff Bridges.
LaBoeuf: Matt Damon.
Mattie Ross: Hailee Steinfeld.
Tom Chaney: Josh Brolin.
Lucky Ned Pepper: Barry Pepper.
40-year-old Mattie: Elizabeth Marvel.
Budget" $38 million.
Box Office: $252.3 million.
True Grit is based on a best-selling novel by Charles Portis published in 1968.
And here is the trailer for the version you are watching.
1. Your reaction to the movie so far? What moment or scene has stayed with you since viewing it this morning?
2. The Coen brothers in making this adaptation of the novel made a decision to keep the perspective of the book, although it's easy to overlook: Mattie Ross is telling the story from an adult's point-of-view—the first time we have seen this in one of our movies. What effect do you see this have on the narrative?
3. The universe of the movie—the world Mattie remembers, looks back on, the one we see: what kind of world, universe is it? How does it affect—or not—Mattie? And do you believe she is 14? Why or why not?
For some reason, I always convince myself that I do not enjoy western movies. In reality, this is false. This movie was hard to not enjoy. There was constant action and wit. Mattie was the typical lovable character. She was strong-willed, caring, and badass. Her sidekicks, although deceptive and selfish at times, were also very likable characters and proved their worth towards the end of the movie (or what I assume is near the end.) I really enjoyed the depiction of Mattie. Although the movie definitely demonstrated her competence and drive, it also showed her ignorance and oblivion at times. The frequent times in the movie in which she repeated the bit about how she had a good lawyer truly built on her character the most. It showed that she was still a young woman and with that comes a bit of immaturity and delusion. Although she can hold her own out in the wild west, she is still a teenager and these moments remind the audience of that fact.
ReplyDeleteThe story being told from this point of view allows Mattie to be seen in a more immature and youthful light. It is hard, even as a teenager, to look back on your younger self and not believe that you were over-dramatic or delusional. By telling the story from the view of old Mattie, the Coen brothers leave room for a whole new perspective. Instead of everything being serious and life or death, the movie takes a step back and realizes that Mattie is just a 14 year old girl and can be wrong, disagreeable, or silly.
The universe that Mattie looks back on is possibly a dulled version of what the west was actually like at this time. Although Mattie shows a lot of death and pain in her story, she never truly dives into her responses and emotions about all the things happening around her. She shoots a man and hardly reacts. I like to believe that this lack of emotion comes from the fact that the story is told from the perspective of a now old woman. Perhaps she simply does not remember how shaken she was by all the death and violence around her. Like all westerns, this movie truly glorifies this time period and the people living in it. In reality, this experience should have scared the pants off of Mattie. If the directors meant to dull it down because of the perspective in which it is told, then I can respect their decision. If they did this because they do not understand the mind of a teenage girl after the death of her father and so many people around her, then I find myself slightly disappointed in the world in which Mattie created.
1. This movie is very entertaining to watch. It has constant action that keeps the audience hooked to the storyline. As the movie progresses, it is also interesting to observe the transformation of the relationships between Mattie and her companions. The movie also has a lot of comical scenes, such as the scene when Mattie was bargaining with Stonehill to get her father’s money back. This scene stood out to me because Mattie shows that she is no ordinary 14 year old girl, to Stonehill’s disappointment. She is so courageous, strong, and witty that she persuades him into giving her $325, along with a fine pony for $10. You can tell that the man suspects nothing will come from this small 14 year old girl, but he is quite wrong. It is very surprising to see such a young girl with such a fierce personality, especially in a western.
ReplyDelete2. Having the more matured Mattie narrate the story gives the audience a look into how she changed as a person over time. Obviously, when she is older she is more mature and reasonable, but the introduction shows that she still has the same the wit and sharpness to her that she did at 14. It also makes space for more of a reflection of how this manhunt affected her life. Throughout the movie, Mattie shows very little emotion or weakness, so having her narrate the story allows for more personal comments to be added into the script. It also makes it possible for the older Mattie to make comments on her own behavior back then, whether she think it over dramatic, childish, or reasonable.
3. Mattie seems to be stuck in a universe where it is possible for a 14 year old to avenge her father’s death, or a universe where she believes it is possible for her to do anything, no matter the price she has to pay. She thinks in a way where there is clear good and bad, and all action must be rewarded or punished, as she states in the beginning. This delusional sense of possibility leads Mattie into being very stubborn, but also stronger than expected in all aspects. This also kind of shuts off the emotional aspect of the story. The movie never explains how she was able to deal with her father’s death so factually, rather than being emotionally upset and visibly affected. It also rarely showed her in a state of weakness. Even when Chaney pulled her across the river with the rest of Ned Pepper’s gang, she stood very strong, even asking for their bacon after they had taken her hostage. For this reason, it is hard to believe she is 14. Any 14 year old that I have known would never have the guts to go out into the wild west to hunt for their father’s murderer. She has wit and guts that many adults I know don’t even have. Although it is a very far off depiction of a real teenager, I think this makes the movie even more enjoyable.
1 ) I think that this was my favorite movie so far. I love the plot and the cinematography is really good. All of the characters are really good, especially Mattie. She is so independent and she doesn’t care what other people think of her. The movie has a good balance of seriousness and humor which I like. One scene that stuck with me from today was the scene when Mattie rode across the river on her horse. This scene really shows how determined she is to help catch her father’s killer.
ReplyDelete2 ) Having the point of view of an adult gives the movie a more mature feel. Because Mattie is telling the story as an adult she can understand the adults in the story more. She can also reflect of the mistakes she made as a child. Because she is narrating past events she also knows the outcomes of the events which allows her to tell them in a clearer way. All of these things make this perspective very different.
3 ) The universe that the movie is set in is very harsh. Mattie has to act more mature than she really is to deal with the events in her life. Throughout the whole movie her goal is to avenge her father’s death. This is not something a 14 year old should have to do. I don’t really think of her as being 14 because she acts older and more mature for most of the movie.
1. I walked into this viewing with some preconceptions about Western films but I ended up really enjoying the movie. Having a main character that is a strong, young woman like Mattie is what really makes this film different from a lot of westerns. A scene that stayed with me would be the one that shows Cogburn one trial for shooting and killing a man. The scene was really funny and his character was so quick and witty. I think this was the scene that made me really start to like the film.
ReplyDelete2. It is pretty easy to overlook. In fact, I forgot that her adult voice opened up the movie until I read this question. Perhaps they could have done more with that. Maybe, it would mean a lot more if it were presented in a way that gave some insight into Mattie’s thoughts and feelings. Now that I’ve thought about it, I think it shows how mature Mattie is. She has taken on a huge role of trying to avenge her father’s death and although she is stubborn, she is also determined. Kids, especially girls, are always being undermined and not taken seriously the same way adults are. But her resilience and the way she demands respect makes Mattie stand out from a lot of the teens in the movies we’ve seen so far. I think this perspective shows that even though she is only 14, Mattie is a force to be reckoned with and should be taken seriously.
3. I’m not quite sure what this universe is even supposed to be. Westerns always confuse me in this way. What year is this supposed to be? Was Arkansas a thing in that year? Were there even pioneers settled in Arkansas by this time? I don’t know a whole lot about the west but I think it is safe to say that this movie waters it down and glamorizes it. Something I thought was interesting was the fact that no one really had a problem with the fact that Mattie was a girl out on her own. She was told several times to go home but it wasn’t explicitly because she was a girl. By today’s standards, it would be hard to view her as a regular teenager. Her father is killed and she sets off on a mission to kill Tom Chaney without even allowing herself the time to grieve. This seems to be a society that values honor and chivalry and you can see that in Mattie’s character. Despite being determined to kill Tom Chaney, she is willing to help others and makes good on her word. In this universe, I do believe she’s 14.
1. I really like this film because I love the characters, and I find it really funny. I love the character Mattie, and she kind of reminds me of Wadjda particularly when she is bargaining to get the most money she can. A moment that stood out to me was when Mattie throws an apple at the man who is trying to take her back home, and she rides her horse across the river. This scene demonstrated Mattie’s determination and grit. She will not let other people restrain and limit her or tell her not to do something just because she is a young girl. When people underestimate her, she always proves them wrong. Another moment that stood out to me is when Mattie is offered coffee, and she responds, “I’m 14. I don’t drink coffee.” I liked this moment because Mattie often comes across as very “adult-like” because of her confidence and because she insists upon being treated like an adult, but this is one of the moments in the movie that reminds the viewer that Mattie is a kid.
ReplyDelete2. Honestly, when I was watching the movie, I wasn’t really thinking much about how this was told from the perspective of adult Mattie. I think this affects the story in the sense that she is more emotionally detached from what is going on. When you are a child/teenager, every bad or unfair thing that happens to you feels like the end of the world (at least that is how it has been in my experience), but when you look back on these events, you can see it from a much more clear and mature perspective. This question makes me think about when we were discussing in class the fact that all these movies we’ve watched are really adults looking back on adolescence.
3. The world Mattie lives in is a world of excitement, danger, and adventure. The roller coaster of events that Mattie experiences sort of matches the mess of emotions that teenagers deal with on a daily basis, except most teenagers experience boredom, which Mattie never seems to have to worry about. This sounds kind of weird because Mattie’s life is kind of tragic (she is definitely not a tragic person though), but when I was little I would dream of having a life like Mattie’s. When I played imaginary games when I was little, I would create these ridiculous storylines, and looking back, most of them involved my character having some sort of tragic background then going on an exciting adventure. I didn’t actually want bad things to happen to me, but I wanted my life to be more interesting, and I know that when I was little, I thought I had the single most ordinary life ever. I don’t know exactly what it means or what it says about the world that Mattie lives in that her life, even though it is actually very sad in many ways, is the dream life for a kid (at least for me as a kid). That is just something I was thinking about while watching the film.
Most of the time Mattie does not seem like a 14 year old because she demands respect, always wants to be seen as an adult, and acts so maturely most the time, but I liked how at certain moments, like when Mattie says she doesn’t drink coffee, we are reminded that she is just a kid. Even though she acts like she knows everything, Mattie is still figuring things out, and because of the life she lives, she is being forced to figure things out very quickly and to grow up really fast.
This movie is probably one of my favorites that we’ve watched so far. I think it’s funny but also tense at times, which suits the style of the film. One of my only problems with the movie is that, throughout the film, it is a little easy to forget what Mattie and the rangers are after on their hunt. Maybe this is because of the constant humor, but the whole idea of vengeance for Mattie’s father quickly takes a back seat to other story elements. The scene that has stuck with me from this morning is the scene of Mattie crossing the river with her horse. I think the scene was the perfect moment to show off the 14 year old’s true grit.
ReplyDeleteThis film is not different because of its older point of view in my opinion. However, where the film does show some differences is when it comes to the subjects like the genre or plot. Mattie’s determination and underdog nature transcend her age in a way, so even many years later, her perception of the events will be similar to how it would’ve been at 14. The fact that Mattie is narrating this story in retrospect allows the movie to stay out of Mattie’s head as much as other films we’ve seen that strictly follow the changes and revelations of the teenage leads.
The world that Mattie remembers and looks back on makes her feel that she was very much underestimated because of her age and even her gender. Ironically, this is a similar point of view to that of the teenage protagonists we’ve followed so far. Everyone feels like the odds are stacked against them. I mostly believe Mattie is 14 because of the age of the actress and her portrayal of the character, but also her stubbornness, persistence, and her outlook on life.
ReplyDeleteI am really enjoying this movie so far. I think that the humor is tasteful and entertaining, and the plot moves quickly and keeps my attention. The scene of her bargaining with the stable owner stayed with me. I admire how passionate and determined Mattie is in avenging her father’s death, and it doesn’t hurt that she’s clearly successful in doing so.
Telling the story as an event from childhood makes for a more interesting story. I think that the story is skewed in that the narrator may only remember parts of the actual story, so she may have filled in some details that may not have been accurate. I think that telling a story from childhood also allows for a lot of self criticism and reflection that the narrator does not take advantage of. It seems as though Mattie always makes the right decisions and has only been successful in her journey thus far in the film. It is hard for me to believe that this is accurate, and makes me skeptical of the narrator’s true account of this story. I wonder if present Mattie is giving past herself too much credit.
The world Mattie lives in seems to be very dull and desensitized, in terms of the men featured in the film thus far. The women in the film seem over-emotional and over-reactive. This kind of world makes Mattie feel like an outsider as a girl. She lacks emotional responses to tragic occurrences, and instead opts for a more logical approach: revenge. I believe that she is 14. She seems very optimistic and determined, as youths tend to be, because they have not had the harsh realities of the world dropped on them yet.
1. So far, this has been my favorite movie of the class. It is funny, action packed, and Mattie is killing it; it's great. The scene that has stayed with me since this morning was the scene where Mattie fell into the hole with the snakes. This scene was most suspenseful because once Mattie completed her quest, her character arc could be concluded with her death. Mattie could not die before she killed Cheney, but afterwards there was an outside chance she could.
ReplyDelete2. Mattie is telling her story, so naturally she is trying to tell a good story. Mattie is probably highlighting certain parts of the story in order to create a more cohesive narrative than reality presents. What was at the time a confusing, difficult journey becomes a smooth transition into adulthood because of the way Mattie chooses to tell the story. It is very likely that Mattie is highlighting the parts of the story that show her character development into someone with true grit and the men's eventual acceptance and respect for her. Additionally, since Mattie is talking about herself she is probably exaggerating her own greatness a fair bit because that is what people do.
3. The world Mattie describes is cold and uncaring. People are killed and the murderers can walk free if there is not a spunky 14 year old to see justice served. This world forces Mattie to learn to take matters into her own hands and become a go-getter. In a world more like ours Mattie could reasonably expect Cheney to be punished without resorting to vigilante justice. I think Mattie is 14 because I do not think she would lie about her age. It could help her maturation narrative to be a teenager, but there is no real incentive to lie. She definitely cannot be much younger than 14, and it is possible she was a year or two older but a 15-20 year old can have just as much of a maturation narrative as a 14 year old. If Maddie was much older than 20 she could have spun it as a transition from young adulthood to a wiser, more jaded mid-life adulthood (assuming life expectancy was much shorter on the frontier during the 1800s) mid-life crisisy narrative. Additionally, most of the characters treat Maddie as a 14 year old by belittling her and even spanking her.
1. I like this movie a lot. Mattie had a lot of spunk and I liked that she just got away with taking initiative in this town. They all were fawning over her and saying “you poor thing” but she was getting the real business done. I genuinely liked all the main characters which is why this movie was so interesting to watch. I think my favorite scene was when LaBeouf and Cogburn were competing to see who was a better shot. They both missed so much but their attitudes really caught the whole movie’s humor. It encapsulates what I like about this movie.
ReplyDelete2. I didn’t remember that this was narrated by her older self. I think if I had kept it in mind I would have found more instances where this was clear. I think she did look back at herself in a youthful silly sense, but she was much more reserved because she was an adult. The movie, while fast paced, didn’t make me get on the edge of my seat. I could somewhat tell that it was a sweet reflection of the situation. Mattie herself took initiative on something that made her seem independent enough that I didn’t realize that she was portrayed that differently than a normal child.
3. The world she lives in strikes me as a very unsupervised universe. Her mother allows her to stay in town on her own at 14 for “business” and the adults don’t realize the extent of what she’s trying to achieve. I don’t know a lot about what the West was like or if this is an accurate portrayal, but it doesn’t seem realistic that she would be able to have this much freedom. I think this allows her to get her way. Although she’s got a crazy goal she’s trying to achieve, Mattie isn’t getting into serious trouble and screwing around which she very easily could be. Besides getting revenge, she is a pleasant kid, but she could easily not be and could be messing up the town. I think Mattie herself seems 14, but the lack of supervision allows her to be more independent than I would expect a 14 year old to be. She acts on what she wants and she doesn’t sit back and weigh all the outcomes that an older person might do. I was convinced that she was 14 in this situation even though she was involved in adult matters.
Overall, I thought this movie was very entertaining. I enjoy movies like these, that offer the basic “overcoming a conflict” narrative. The scene that stuck out to me the most, was when Mattie was speaking with the man who sold her father horses. She was incredibly witty, and clearly shocked the man. This scene seemed to foreshadow how Mattie would be treated for the rest of the movie. She consistently surprised LaBoeuf and Rooster with her courage and quick thinking.
ReplyDeleteI feel that Mattie narrating this movie from an adult perspective allowed her create a more mature story. Although I do not doubt that Mattie was smart and courageous, I would not be surprised if Mattie added some glamor to the story. I did not see any ways the movie was directly changed by Mattie narrating as an adult; however, I believe the story could lack the feeling of forgiveness that Mattie displays towards LaBoeuf and even Rooster. Mattie conveys herself as a very mature person, which may have been a small dramatization.
The universe the movie in is a very brash world to live in. The time of political correctness could not be farther away. Mattie is forced to grow up extremely quick, and is taught at a very young age that if you want something to happen, you need to make it happen. She takes control of her life in a way that is very impressive, especially for a 14 year old. Her courage and wits certainly surpasses her age; however, I can believe that she is 14 because of the world she lives in. She has learned to become a strong individual through her extremely hard times, and has learned how to stick up for herself.
1. I had no idea what to expect from this movie. I typically love Coen brothers' movies, but I do not typically like western movies. Despite this, I still found myself thoroughly enjoying the movie. The witty dialogue, the interesting story, and the gorgeous shots had me loving every second of this film. My favorite scene of the movie is the scene where Mattie goes to talk to Cogburn in the back of the grocery store.
ReplyDelete2. I did not notice any immediate effects of telling this story looking back from being an adult. There is only one voiceover at the beginning. Maybe the characters are exaggerated in rememberance. Mattie Ross already acts as (if not more) mature than most of the adults in the movie.
3. Most westerns I have seen are very demeaning towards women. They are mostly stuck in the house taking care of the house and kids while the men do all of the adventuring. In this world, people didn't seem to care that Mattie was a women. There was no one telling her that she couldn't buy a horse or she couldn't hire a US Marshall to avenge her father. This is very contrasted to Wadjda where she was told that she couldn't do anything and the whole point of the movie was getting passed that oppression.
1) I love how this movie gives some classy western vibes but also adds a twist by making a 14 year old girl the real badass. The odd, and sometimes harsh sense of humor has grown on me, for I often find myself laughing at the actor’s jokes. A moment that really stayed with me was when Rooster charged the four outlawers alone and single handedly killing three if them, then the fourth was shot down by LaBoeuf. The scene was super epic to me because Rooster rides straight at the men, shooting and yelling cowboy stuff along the way. To me, it can’t get any more western than that.
ReplyDelete2) Honestly, I completely forgot her adult narrative was a factor at all. The Coen brothers may have thought to keep this perspective, but they obviously didn’t do a profound job if I can’t even remember her narrative (that is unless I am mentally impaired, which is quite possible). I really felt quite the opposite while watching this. I definitely feel like this movie was through Mattie’s eyes, that of a 14 year old girl’s.
3) This universe is definitely western, but again, it’s twisted. The twist is in a good way however. Instead of the usual dehumanization of woman, in this movie, Mattie, a young woman at that, seems to have pretty dominant control over whomever she quarrels with. This is a pretty new view of western movies. In the John Wayne classics, woman where usually the damsel in distress, and most definitely not going on any exciting adventures like Mattie. --- I do think Mattie is 14, if she where to lie about her age, she would definitely go a bit older.
ReplyDelete1. This movie is so good! Parts of the movie gross me out or make me uncomfortable (like all of the dead bodies), but overall I’m really enjoying it. I love Mattie! She’s such a strong female character; she reminds me of Wadjda. I love how Mattie keeps fighting for what she wants, and she doesn’t stop until she’s satisfied. I really admire that quality in her. One of my favorite scenes so far is when Mattie is bargaining with the guy who sold her dad the ponies. It’s one of the first times she shows just how headstrong and intelligent she is. My favorite line is when Mattie has just gotten almost everything she wanted, and then when she asks for something else, the man responds, “Oh no. We’re not bargaining again, are we?”
2. Except in the beginning, when Mattie was clearly talking in a woman’s voice, the movie feels like it’s happening in that instance, rather than being retold later. The fact that the story is all memory might explain how extreme some of the circumstances are, like how high the dead man was hung in the tree and how many snakes crawled out of the body. Some of the scenes could easily be exaggerated memory.
3. Mattie’s world seems very rough, and it’s clearly had an effect on her personality. Mattie seems to secretly be the head of the family. Her siblings are young, her father traveled a lot, and her mother is apparently very weak emotionally. In a place like that, with that much pressure on her to take care of her mother and siblings, it’s no wonder Mattie’s so headstrong and untrusting. Even in the very beginning of the movie, Mattie has to sleep with corpses, has to fight the pony seller trying to cheat her, has sexual remarks made towards her by LeBeef, and more. Mattie doesn’t seem like a 14-year-old in my everyday life, but I can believe her being a 14-year-old in the Old West.
ReplyDelete1. Your reaction to the movie so far? What moment or scene has stayed with you since viewing it this morning?
The ending montage of Rooster and Mattie riding home and then Rooster carrying Mattie sticks with me because of its simplicity. The cinematography is beautiful and the minimal music is extremely powerful. This scene completely strips back all the extra details of the plot and focuses in on the power and beauty in Rooster and Mattie’s relationship.
2. The Coen brothers in making this adaptation of the novel made a decision to keep the perspective of the book, although it's easy to overlook: Mattie Ross is telling the story from an adult's point-of-view—the first time we have seen this in one of our movies. What effect do you see this have on the narrative?
I'm not sure if I think displaying the story from a 40 year old Mattie’s point of view was the best choice. I think it almost dulls the narrative. I can't get my mind off the scene where Mattie is surrounded by snakes and replies to Rooster’s question calmly with “I cannot.” It feels like, while recounting her story, Mattie is altering what she said and did slightly based on how she would've reacted at 40 instead of simply telling what she said as a 14 year old. I think that 40 year old Mattie looks back on her times in the “Indian Territory” fondly because she's somewhat forgotten how painful it was at the time.
3. The universe of the movie—the world Mattie remembers, looks back on, the one we see: what kind of world, universe is it? How does it affect—or not—Mattie? And do you believe she is 14? Why or why not?
The world at the time (according to Mattie) is very simple. This oversimplification could be how the actual world was at the time, or it could be Mattie’s 14 year old brain. She has one seemingly simple goal in mind (having Cheney killed) and from her perspective in the movie, the steps she takes to achieve this goal are simple. In reality, the steps she takes to avenge her father's death are very intense and involve murdering multiple people.