By Malice Intended

The influence of the Western has long been prevalent in the work of the Coen Brothers, from Raising Arizona all the way to the Oscar winning No Country for Old Men.  Their upcoming adaptation of the Charles Portis novel True Grit is a full on Genre piece.  It is based directly on the novel itself and not so much on the 1969 adaptation that earned John Wayne an Oscar.  This newer version stars Jeff Bridges as Marshal Reuben J. “Rooster” Cogburn, an alcoholic who has been commissioned by a young girl named Mattie Ross to track down the man who murdered her father.  Josh Brolin stars as Tom Chaney, the drifter who was behind the trigger.  Matt Damon will play a character named Labouef.

The trailer is gritty and somber.  Mood-wise, it’s much more in keeping with No Country for Old Men than any of the more off beat and comedic Coen offerings.  The sort of gunplay that is a prerequisite for a Western is present, but isn’t of the thrilling or tongue-in-cheek variety.  Like many of the aforementioned “deconstructionist” offerings, True Grit takes itself and its themes with deadly seriousness.  Visually, this will most definitely be a contender at Oscar time.   

Every Fall, there is a movie that distinguishes itself from the rest of the Oscar bait pack and stands out as a truly inspired piece of work.  The Coens seem committed to making sure that Charles Portis’s novel gets the respect it deserves.  Their filmography suggests that they have always been very much at home in the Old West, at least in their minds.  They also have a fundamental understanding of what makes the genre a place that audiences are willing to revisit from time to time.  It’s a part of our collective heritage.

[pro-player width=’425′ height=’344′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uco41pOKeJg[/pro-player]

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