In the Spoiler Thread...
True GritHere's the non-spoiler version...
I liked True Grit, but didn't love it. While there's some occasionally funny bits of dialogue, this isn't a very fun movie. It's way too talky for its own good. And I'm good with a dialogue-heavy film if the scenes are interesting, but a lot of the time they're just talking almost with no point other than passing the time.
I've seen both versions of the book, PLUS I've actually read the book. This is the most dry and deadpan of the three, almost like the Coens were being overly faithful to the text. Sometimes they made good adjustments to the original story. Smart choices that condensed the narrative or defined the characters much more sharply. Just as often they seemed unsure what to do with a scene and just played it straight. This feels like a work for hire more than any other project they've given us (except Ladykillers). A couple of months ago I made the comment that because this is the Coens there's going to be some weird scene or subplot not hinted at in the trailer. Turns out there isn't and I really missed that.
The strangest moment is the guy in the bear coat, and it's strange because the acting is terrible and the camera lets him go on way too long. Again, he's just filmed in a boring medium frame leaving you nothing to look at, just that obnoxious performance.
Most of the cast is good. Barry Pepper is channeling Robert Duvall so well it's kind of freaky. The best work is by Matt Damon (again). He just continues to impress me in film after film. There were lines that I didn't think could work. I think he's the most complex and interesting character.
The book is a fun piece of pulp, full of fun dialogue like something Elmore Leonard would come up with. The John Wayne version takes the bones of the story to make a very old-fashioned western that does the job without being exceptional in any way. The Coens play things a little too straight. Usually ones to bring rough edges to a project, they flatten everything out to a smooth consistency. The trailer suggests a super cool badass shoot-em-up and the film is nothing of the kind. And that's too bad. In fact, for all of the original's technical imperfections I'd have to say it's a better movie.
To quote The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, "When the legend becomes fact, print the legend."