# True Grit (2010) - the I've seen it thread (boxed spoilers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 22, 2010, 11:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-grit-2010-the-ive-seen-it-thread-boxed-spoilers/565059 "2010-12-22T11:10:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-grit-2010-the-ive-seen-it-thread-boxed-spoilers/565059/141 "2011-01-06T02:46:44Z")
I know that all the actors have been doing press, not that I’ve seen any, but just because that’s what actors do when they have a new movie. From the IMDB link I saw a couple of interviews with Hailee and had to watch them. She is adorable! I so hope she’s nominated for an Oscar, even if it would be category fraud. [On Jimmie Fallon](http://www.imdb.com/video/hulu/vi2864552729/) [About horseback riding and shooting guns](http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi888838169/) ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-grit-2010-the-ive-seen-it-thread-boxed-spoilers/565059/142 "2011-01-06T05:09:42Z")
Well, that was easily my favorite movie of 2010, even though I waited until 2011 to see it. Hailee Steinfeld’s performance bowled me over. She owned that challenging dialogue in both rhythm an believability. After just a few lines, I stopped paying attention to how good the actor was and just bought into the character without effort. It called to mind how much the actor who play William Bullock, the sheriff’s adopted son, struggled on Deadwood with that caliber of dialogue and cast. This is right up there with \*Unforgiven \*in my book. I like my westerns hard-nosed and “authentic”. So they’re few and far between. At a glance, the recent _Open Range_ had the right patina, but it just wasn’t up to par upon examination. And so much in the genre that has come before was too tidy, morally simplistic, and clean shaven. While posters here and critics have said so, I don’t agree that this was a straightforward effort from the Coens. Bear Skin Man alone was like their signature quirks literally riding into the film on horseback. There were others. ---
**Author:** ![Enright3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/enright3/32/2897_2.png) [@Enright3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enright3)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-grit-2010-the-ive-seen-it-thread-boxed-spoilers/565059/143 "2011-01-06T05:33:46Z")
> [@Skammer](#): > > Okay, but she didn’t look that good in the movie. > > Sorta a hijack, but speaking of Mattie: I just realized yesterday that Kim Darby (Mattie from the 1969 version, which I’ve never seen) played John Cusack’s mother in _Better Off Dead_. “It has raisins. You like raisins.” “French bread, French fries, French dressing…” ---
**Author:** ![markm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de053/32.png) [@markm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markm)\ **Post date:** [January 7, 2011, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-grit-2010-the-ive-seen-it-thread-boxed-spoilers/565059/144 "2011-01-07T19:00:32Z")
Finally saw it last night and really enjoyed it. I agree that Bridges’ Cogburn was unlikeable, but in the way that sort of character really would be. Wayne’s version was a guy you’d enjoy sitting in a bar and listening to him recount his tales. Bridges came across as the guy everyone sort of says, “Oh, no, here comes Cogburn again.” That’s exactly how I would expect a person of Cogburn’s past and character to be. I’ve known people like that in real life, and yet they still have people who admire, respect, or are fond of them. There’s a type for everyone out there. What I would like to see now is the Coens take on some of Elmore Leonard’s works. I think the combination of his dialog and overall cool with their own could make for some very memorable cinema. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-grit-2010-the-ive-seen-it-thread-boxed-spoilers/565059/145 "2011-01-12T16:00:19Z")
Someone over at IMDb (of all places) posted the best explanation of the perceived age discrepancy. Basically, there’s two different time periods shown in the epilogue. > [@](#): > > Mattie, as narrator, is a 64 year old woman, looking back in time: > In the case of the main event of the film, she is remembering a time 50 years ago in 1878, when she was 14, and LaBouef was 29. > In the case of the “epilogue” at the Wild West Show in 1903, she is remembering a time 25 years ago, when she learned of Cogburn’s death. She was 39 then, and LaBoeuf would have been 54. > When she says that LaBoeuf, if still alive, is nearer 80 than 70, she is speaking of the present, in 1928, when LaBoeuf is 79 and she is 64. > Some have said that the final scene, at Cogburn’s gravestone, is set in “the present”, with a noticeably older Mattie. I would have to see it again to be sure. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [January 12, 2011, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-grit-2010-the-ive-seen-it-thread-boxed-spoilers/565059/146 "2011-01-12T16:01:33Z")
Someone over at IMDb (of all places) posted the best explanation of the perceived age discrepancy. Basically, there’s two different time periods shown in the epilogue. > [@](#): > > Mattie, as narrator, is a 64 year old woman, looking back in time: > In the case of the main event of the film, she is remembering a time 50 years ago in 1878, when she was 14, and LaBouef was 29. > In the case of the “epilogue” at the Wild West Show in 1903, she is remembering a time 25 years ago, when she learned of Cogburn’s death. She was 39 then, and LaBoeuf would have been 54. > When she says that LaBoeuf, if still alive, is nearer 80 than 70, she is speaking of the present, in 1928, when LaBoeuf is 79 and she is 64. > Some have said that the final scene, at Cogburn’s gravestone, is set in “the present”, with a noticeably older Mattie. I would have to see it again to be sure. > **[IMDb: Ratings, Reviews, and Where to Watch the Best Movies & TV Shows](https://www.imdb.com/)** > > IMDb is the world's most popular and authoritative source for movie, TV and celebrity content. Find ratings and reviews for the newest movie and TV shows. Get personalized recommendations, and learn where to watch across hundreds of streaming... ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2011, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-grit-2010-the-ive-seen-it-thread-boxed-spoilers/565059/147 "2011-01-15T13:58:14Z")
> [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](#): > > I’m not a Coen Brothers aficionado, though I have seen a few of their films and am particularly fond of, “Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?” I noted some weirdness in this movie, like the bear-man, but it seemed random. I guess “Oh Brother” made me think there should be some meaning there. I assumed that it was the medicine bear-man who Cogburn rushed Mattie to after her snake bite…? My impressions: I really enjoyed it. I liked this actress a lot better than I like Kim Darby. I like that they made her character more age appropriate. I laughed out loud (as did the others in the cinema) at a lot of the dialogue. I thought it was beautifully shot. The changes of scenery show not just a passage of time but how far they traveled in search of Chaney. I liked all three major characters, Mattie, LaBoeuf, and Cogburn, and thought that they had good chemistry together. In those days, it wasn’t uncommon for 14 year old girls to get married. So I thought that the spark of attraction between LaBoeuf and Mattie at the end was appropriate and well done. I thought it was amusing that even though they tried to uglify Josh Brolin, he was still quite handsome. Once minor criticism is that I thought that they were way too clean and well fed throughout the movie. I mean, Cogburn looked bedraggled the whole time, but they all should have lost quite a bit of weight, and teeth, on a trail diet. (Oh, and even though I’m an animal lover, there’s no way I’d feed all those delicious apples (which were way too big and red, BTW) to my horse. I was surprised that in Comanche territory, there weren’t more, you know, Comanches. I think the donkey should be nominated for best supporting actor, because boy did he sound abused. Poor Blackie! That whole running him to death segment was well done. Obvious Coen Brothers moment: The speeches done by the hanged men. Let’s just say that most hanging scenes aren’t comedic. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2011, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-grit-2010-the-ive-seen-it-thread-boxed-spoilers/565059/148 "2011-01-15T15:08:34Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > I assumed that it was the medicine bear-man who Cogburn rushed Mattie to after her snake bite…? He took her back to the trading post where the Indian (the guy getting his hair cut) was a doctor. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2011, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-grit-2010-the-ive-seen-it-thread-boxed-spoilers/565059/149 "2011-01-15T16:04:45Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > . I mean, Cogburn looked bedraggled the whole time, but they all should have lost quite a bit of weight, and teeth, on a trail diet. It isn’t made clear, but I think the whole story takes place within the space a week or 10 days. Rooster had “a big slab of salt pork and 175 corn dodgers” and Mattie brought biscuit and bacon sandwiches, some cheese and dried peaches. They ate some Indian hominy at the dugout and had a meal at McAlester’s store. You didn’t see any Comanches because they were in the Choctaw Nation, but I know what you mean. They were out in the boonies; there weren’t too many people of any kind wandering around out there…except for outlaws, of course. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2011, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-grit-2010-the-ive-seen-it-thread-boxed-spoilers/565059/150 "2011-01-15T18:01:54Z")
> [@jsc1953](#): > > I could’ve sworn that was John Goodman in the cabin scene (and given his Coen Bros history, not at all unexpected)…but it wasn’t. Though I could tell it wasn’t him, it sure reminded me of him. And I had to check and make sure the bear man wasn’t J. K. Simmons. ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2011, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-grit-2010-the-ive-seen-it-thread-boxed-spoilers/565059/151 "2011-01-15T18:37:40Z")
> [@Spoke](#): > > You may be right. It’s certainly been my experience that Coens movies reward repeat viewings. Just wanted to revisit this thread, as I DID see it a second time, and liked it more. The acting is more subtle in this, more nuance to the performances. Pay attention to tone of voice, silences, and the look on the actor’s faces. With the 1969 version, you could almost not watch the screen and come away with the same thoughts and opinions as you would have watching it. The cabin scene was not lacking in the remake, as I thought in my post above. I still wish Bridges hadn’t chosen the gravel voice, but overall, my opinion vastly improved on second viewing. It’s not the rousing, larger-than-life adventure the first one was. While I felt the best lines in the original were, “I call that bold talk for a one-eyed fat man!” and “Fill your hands, you son-of-a-bitch!”, I thought the best line in the remake was, “Wait, are we trading again?” 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2011, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-grit-2010-the-ive-seen-it-thread-boxed-spoilers/565059/152 "2011-01-15T18:43:56Z")
We finally saw this last night. The only reservation I had going in was how Bridges would match up to Wayne’s performance without seeming like an impersonation of the Duke. Kim Darby and Glenn Campbell didn’t impress me in the first version of the film, so it was a given that Matt Damon could nail that role without any problem. The girl was an unknown, but I always disliked Kim Darby in _any_ role, so figured they probably found someone who could take direction without chewing the scenery. We really like it a lot. I thought Bridges nailed the part and was far more convincing as an unrepentant derelict in this film than he was in the film that won him an Oscar last year. There was no channeling of Wayne, and I give him major props for owning the character. Damon was excellent as the puffed up Le Boeuf, and Brolin was appropriately psychotic as Chaney. Barry Pepper consumed his few scenes, but was a little too reminiscent of Robert Duvall, IMO. For me, Maddie was the least effective character in the film and could have been better cast. Still better than Darby, of course. All-in-all, I’d give it five stars for a fun adventure western. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2011, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-grit-2010-the-ive-seen-it-thread-boxed-spoilers/565059/153 "2011-01-15T19:44:32Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > He also faced down Ned’s gang alone, which is the kind of thing it’s made clear that Maddie admires. It’s clear she thinks this is “ill advised” and nothing gets a woman gaga over a man who will take on stupid odds for her in a fight, however ill advised. That is a generalization not meant to apply to women posters here who might disagree with it, correctly or incorrectly. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2011, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-grit-2010-the-ive-seen-it-thread-boxed-spoilers/565059/154 "2011-01-15T19:55:27Z")
> [@Stoid](#): > > The Coens did a much more believable and very upsetting job of showing that how they really rode Blackie nearly to death. In the original Maddie is immediately screaming to stop that they’re killing him, then he falls and Rooster quickly steals a wagon, it seems to happen in the space of 20 minutes. In this one they show them riding and riding for hours and then Rooster stabs Blackie to keep him going. I was freaking out even though it’s a movie. Oh I am going to have serious problems watching that. I think I will wander off to the bathroom for that. How long is the scene? As an aside, I was ripping pissed off at a bunch of assholes who made a documentary about 10-15 years ago about pilgrims traveling to Jerusalem. Those fuckwads rode several sets of horses to death along the 2 year endeavor. They did not realize that the average pilgrim train went 10 to 20 miles a day, traveled for 3 or 4 days then knocked off to rest the pack train and saddle animals [and do sabbath worship and equipment repair] for a couple days, then go on for several days. Those assholes rode until the horses foundered, damaged a body part or died. Then they bought more and kept on. I have never wanted to horsewhip any people quite so much as everybody involved in that project, including the farm that sold them an absolutely beautiful belgian without making sure they actually were going to travel properly. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2011, 8:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-grit-2010-the-ive-seen-it-thread-boxed-spoilers/565059/155 "2011-01-15T20:08:05Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Oh I am going to have serious problems watching that. > > I think I will wander off to the bathroom for that. How long is the scene? I don’t recall his stabbing Little Blackie, so it must be rather brief. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2011, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-grit-2010-the-ive-seen-it-thread-boxed-spoilers/565059/156 "2011-01-15T20:42:14Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I don’t recall his stabbing Little Blackie, so it must be rather brief. I thought it was spurs? ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2011, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-grit-2010-the-ive-seen-it-thread-boxed-spoilers/565059/157 "2011-01-15T20:49:33Z")
She was shouting at him to stop, and Rooster took his knife out, brought it high, and then drove it into Blackie’s side. We don’t see the blade entering his flesh, of course, but we see Rooster’s arm go down. It’s pretty blatant, I’m not sure how people could have missed it. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2011, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-grit-2010-the-ive-seen-it-thread-boxed-spoilers/565059/158 "2011-01-15T21:07:36Z")
> [@pepperlandgirl](#): > > She was shouting at him to stop, and Rooster took his knife out, brought it high, and then drove it into Blackie’s side. We don’t see the blade entering his flesh, of course, but we see Rooster’s arm go down. It’s pretty blatant, I’m not sure how people could have missed it. Concur. It is a very intense sequence, etherial and heartwrenching at the same time. I don’t even like horses, and it affected me profoundly. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2011, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-grit-2010-the-ive-seen-it-thread-boxed-spoilers/565059/159 "2011-01-15T22:29:24Z")
Did he stab Blackie, or whack him with the flat of the blade? ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2011, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-grit-2010-the-ive-seen-it-thread-boxed-spoilers/565059/160 "2011-01-15T22:55:20Z")
In the book, Rooster first cuts Blackie, then rubs salt into the wound when the horse falters. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-grit-2010-the-ive-seen-it-thread-boxed-spoilers/565059.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/true-grit-2010-the-ive-seen-it-thread-boxed-spoilers/565059.md?page=9)