True Grit - Vergeltung

So, soll ich mich jetzt etwa bei den Coen-Brüdern entschuldigen? True Grit habe ich vor einiger Zeit im Kino gesehen. Der Film hat mich nicht besonders begeistert. Ich habe ihm drei Sterne gegeben, die Schauspieler*innen, Deakins und Burwell gelobt, den Mangel an Originalität, den seltsamen Epilog und den fehlenden Coen-Charakter kritisiert… Und das war’s. Heute habe ich die DVD geschaut und – oh Wunder – die Unzufriedenheit ist fast verschwunden. Keine Ahnung, woran es liegt. Vielleicht daran, dass ich schon vorher gewusst habe, was auf mich zukommt, und nicht dasselbe wie im Kino erwartet habe. Ich konnte also den Film genießen. True Grit hatte auf einmal einen tollen Schwung, auf einmal hat mir außer den Szenen "die Hinrichtung", "der Erhängte", "die Indianerkinder" oder (vor allem) "der Zahnarzt" auch der Rest gefallen. Auf einmal habe ich mich dabei ertappt, dass ich die ganzen zwei Stunden gelächelt habe und am Ende wie ein kleiner Junge gerührt war. Nur der Epilog… (22.09.2011)

Eine einzige große Westernpoesie, die nach Schießpulver, Bohnen und Tränen riecht. Ein Film, der gemessen am Coen-Stammbaum dem No Country For Old Men wohl am meisten ähnelt, jedoch dank seiner Demut gegenüber Genrekonventionen sowie der absolut brillanten Arbeit mit dem zentralen Dreieck im brüderlichen Universum einen sehr angenehmen und wärmenden Ort der Nostalgie und Melancholie nach den alten staubigen Zeiten des Heldentums schafft. (15.02.2011)

A meaningful remake. A tribute to the original from the Coen brothers, but also they realize the mistakes of the original and certainly do not repeat them. They avoided a long introduction, and got rid of the landscape backdrops and the overall naivety. A dusty, tough atmosphere reigns, where harsh words fly from all angles. The Coens put their money on the characters, which turned out to be the right choice because, unlike the original, they gave them some depth (Wayne was just Wayne with a gun belt, while Bridges is actually Cogburn, and it’s the same with everybody else) and none were sidelined. This makes emotions important, while in the first version they were rather absent. And despite the outstanding performances of all those badass macho types, it is fourteen year-old Hailee Steinfeld who steals the movie (and who has the biggest balls). (01.01.2011)

"We don't achieve true perfection, because instead of redefining the genre (see No Country for Old Men), the Coens heavily rely on certainty, but during the final credits, the honest western force truly hits me. The biggest acting merits undoubtedly belong to Bridges, whose casually loose and uncompromisingly tough Rooster dominates, while the occasionally slightly dull Hailee Steinfeld is a surprising disappointment. I had some minor issues with the unbalanced pace of the film for quite a while, but the final half-hour saves everything. Minute by minute, the main antagonist's arrival brings tension and emotion, without a second of shortage, not to mention the flawless finish. In retrospect, it becomes clear that some plot twists were overly evident, but despite that, I can't be upset with the film thanks to its straightforwardness and sincerity. 70%" (28.01.2011)

Even though western is far from my favourite genre, I was looking forward to True Grit, if only because it would be my first opportunity to see a story from the Wild West on the big screen. The execution is above-par, but that shouldn’t be a surprise, the Cohens know how to make movies. Unlike most viewers, though, I had a serious problem with the actors, everyone except Jeff Bridges. Damon, Brolin and the praised all the way to heaven Steinfeld felt… robotic. They just didn’t fit into the western setting, I didn’t believe they were people, I only saw characters written on paper. This leads to another complain I have: the epilogue. In the last five minutes the Cohens try to squeeze emotions and they do it in an unexpected way. In the cinema I didn’t get the dramatic intention, but now it’s clear and I appreciate it somehow because it’s fairly untraditional, but that doesn’t alter the fact that it didn’t work on me. True Grit disappointed me in the same way that No Country for Old Men did three years ago. I prefer the Cohens in comedy :) (26.02.2011)