The first thing that surprised me about this film was that it was by Joel and Ethan. Everyone had been harping on so much about how classics don't need to be remade, no one bothered to mention who was to blame this time. As much as I love Fargo, O Brother, Hudsucker et al, I must admit that "The Ladykillers" was both a Coen bros and a bad remake.
This was a good film. I'd land it alongside Unforgiven which I see as an excellent modern cow boy film. This version of True Grit, is more lively paced than "The Assasination of Jesse James...", but shares many of the great qualities of that film.
Maybe I'm thick, but Jeff Bridges and Matt Damon were unrecognizable in this film, it almost was like having a cast of unknows, so I wasn't comparing performances to their earlier roles.
Hailee Steinfeld was good. I was worried that either they'd get a 20 something to try and play a 14 year old, or they'd get a 16 year old who wasn't a polished actress. Like Besson's success with Natalie Portman in Leon, the Coes Bros found a great young talent here, at only 14.
I'm sure fans of traditional westerns would not care for this, all the characters have very human failings, but there is a happy ending in this one.
rated D/A/M/N
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