True Grit

Following the murder of her father by hired hand Tom Chaney, 14-year-old farm girl Mattie Ross sets out to capture the killer. To aid her, she hires the toughest U.S. marshal she can find, a man with “true grit,” Reuben J. “Rooster” Cogburn (Oscar winner Jeff Bridges). Mattie insists on accompanying Cogburn, whose drinking, sloth, and generally reprobate character do not augment her faith in him. Against his wishes, she joins him in his trek into the Indian Nations in search of Chaney. They are joined by Texas Ranger LaBoeuf, who wants Chaney for his own purposes. The unlikely trio find danger and surprises on the journey, and each has his or her “grit” tested.The 2010 version of “True Grit” is a remake of the 1969 movie of the same name, in which John Wayne starred as Rooster Cogburn, in his only Oscar winning performance. Both movies are based on the Charles Portis novel, which is about a 14-year-old girl who, along with an aging U.S. marshal and another lawman, tracks her father’s killer in hostile Indian territory. While the original film was a showcase for John Wayne, the Coens Bros.’ version tells the tale from the girl’s point of view. The original starred Kim Darby as the teen, John Wayne as Rooster Cogburn, Jeff Corey as the killer and featured Robert Duvall and Dennis Hopper as fellow outlaws.