4)Â True Grit (2010)
Roger Ebert once wrote that he could almost smell Jeff Bridges’ version of Rooster Cogburn coming off the screen, which goes some way to show how completely immersed in the role the actor becomes.
While the 1969 original offers The Duke, Robert Duvall, Glen Campbell (really, Glen Campbell…the singer?) and a brilliant Kim Darby as Mattie Ross, the Coen brothers remake has the feel of filth running through its veins, and offers the best performance of Jeff Bridges’ wonderful career.
Mattie Ross (a sensational Haillee Steinfeld) hires drunken, ferocious Marshall Rooster Cogburn to hunt down and bring to justice the man who killed her father, a whining, snivelling thief named Tom Chaney (played expertly by Josh Brolin). With the unwanted help of a Texas Ranger (Matt Damon), they set out across country to track Chaney and the gang with whom he rides.
This is perhaps the Coen’s straightest film, lacking some of the tics and tricks that have garnered them a loyal following, but left some completely cold. In setting out to tell a simple story, they have created one of the finest examples of contemporary films dealing with the Western.
