True Grit ***

Ethan Coen and Joel Coen directed this Western. Watch Preview. Cast: Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Barry Pepper, Hailee Steinfeld. Rated PG-13 for some intense sequences of western violence including disturbing images. Running time is one hour and fifty minutes.

Fourteen-year-old Mattie Ross's (Hailee Steinfeld) father has been shot in cold blood by the coward Tom Chaney (Josh Brolin), and she is determined to bring him to justice by enlisting the help of a trigger-happy, drunken U.S. Marshal, Rooster Cogburn (Jeff Bridges).

I still remember the 1969 John Wayne version of this film fondly, but this version is quite capable of standing on its own merits. Supposedly the Coen's went back to the original book rather than trying to update the earlier film but this version still seems familiar. Bridges does a good job of making the 'Rooster' character his own and Steinfeld is excellent as Mattie. Damon is also good but his role is a little more in the background. The dialogue sounds like something you'd expect from the 19th century and the photography is very good at presenting a view of a much less civilized time. If you're one of those who are always asking why they don't make Westerns any more...well, they do, and very well. Times/Theatres.